Modifiable factors associated with weight regain after bariatric surgery: a scoping review

Understanding social dynamics and patient experience in out of hospital care: validation of a co-responsibility questionnaire (CoReCare)

Patient experiences are commonly assessed through patient reported experience measures (PREMs). Ambulatory care models extend traditional care into the patients' home, meaning that a triangle of health care professionals, patients, and their families need to be considered when assessing the remote care experience. These intertwined responsibilities are described by co-responsibility. Currently, PREMs don't reflect how elements to remote care impact this remote care experience. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a questionnaire assessing perceived patient-partner co-responsibility as a PREM in remote care. A 30-item questionnaire was assessed among 1000 individuals aged between 18 and 65 years that tried to lose weight with a partner, friend or family member supporting them. Pairwise item correlations, Exploratory Factor Analysis, and Cronbach's alpha were used for validation. 29-items were identified to reflect co-responsibility across 6 factors: empowerment and support, relational aspects, lack of sympathy, co-participation, accepting help and awareness. Cronbach's alpha ranged between 0.66 and 0.93, showing good internal consistency. We present a validated CoReCare Questionnaire to understand the impact of social dynamics on achieving desired health outcomes in a remote care setting. The CoReCare Questionnaire extends current PREMs when aiming to assess and improve the patient experience of a care episode outside of the hospital.

Prevalence and predictors of weight recurrence following bariatric surgery: A longitudinal prospective cohort study from Tehran Obesity Treatment Study (TOTS)

BACKGROUND

Considering the lack of a standardized definition for weight recurrence (WR), the prevalence and predictors of WR remain inconsistent.

METHODS

The prospective study was conducted on 1939 individuals who underwent bariatric surgery;66.8% underwent sleeve gastrectomy (SG), 33.2%, underwent gastric bypass (GB)[of them 87% one-anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB), and 13% Rue and Y gastric bypass (RYGB)]. During a follow-up of 72 months, the prevalence of WR ranged from 13.5% to 35.5% according to five different definitions. The generalized estimated equation method was used to assess weight changes, excess weight loss (EWL%), and body composition (fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM)and FFM loss/weight loss% (FFML/WL%)) by a bioelectrical impedance analyzer. Stepwise logistic regression models were applied to determine the independent predictors of WR.

RESULTS

Among 1939 participants followed up for 72 months, WR definitions were applied to 650 patients (75.4% females) with an average BMI of 44.3 ± 5.4 kg/m2,491 (75.5%) and 159 (24.5%) of whom underwent SG and GB, respectively. WR group had relatively higher weights and FM and lower EWL%. A WR turning point was observed at 24 months post-surgery (Ptime before & after 24 months<0.001). The most significant risk factors for WR included SG (in all WR definitions), a younger age (in four out of five definitions), and a higher baseline BMI (in three out of five definitions).

CONCLUSION

The prevalence and predictors of WR varied greatly depending on the definition applied. The prominent risk factors of WR included SG, younger age, and a higher baseline BMI.

How to address weight regain after bariatric surgery in an individualized way

Bariatric surgery is the most effective obesity treatment. As a chronic and progressive disease, weight loss response to surgery will vary individually. Thus, insufficient weight loss or regain can happen after surgery, but they lack a standard definition. There are different mechanisms underlying weight regain and/or insufficient weight loss, such as genetics, maladaptive eating behaviors, and the inadequate choice of index operations, among others. Patients with weight regain or insufficient weight loss should be submitted to an individualized and comprehensive evaluation by a multidisciplinary team. This may help identify the causes and direct the appropriate treatment individually. Options for patients with insufficient weight loss and/or weight regain following bariatric surgery include repair of postoperative complications, conversion into another operation, endoscopic therapies with inconsistent outcomes, and dietary/behavioral counseling. Revision and conversion surgeries have higher complication rates than primary operations. Although there is no standard pharmacological regimen for that indication, the new agents seem efficient and safe to promote the loss of the regained weight and even be adjunctive to selected patients before they reach the plateau. This review aims to summarize the knowledge of the best approach for patients with weight regain/insufficient weight loss and suggests an algorithm to customize the approach and therapeutic options after bariatric surgery.

What About My Weight? Insufficient Weight Loss or Weight Regain After Bariatric Metabolic Surgery

Context

This review study aimed to investigate the definition, etiology, risk factors (RFs), management strategy, and prevention of insufficient weight loss (IWL) and weight regain (WR) following bariatric metabolic surgery (BMS).

Evidence Acquisition

Electronic databases were searched to retrieve relevant articles. The inclusion criteria were English articles with adult participants assessing the definition, prevalence, etiology, RFs, management strategy, and prevention of IWL/WR.

Results

Definition: The preferred definition for post-BMS IWL/WR are the terms "Lack of maintenance of total weight loss (TWL)>20%" and "weight change in percentage compared to nadir weight or weight loss". Prevalence: The exact prevalence of IWL/WR is still being determined due to the type of BMS and various definitions. Etiology: Several mechanisms, including hormonal/metabolic, dietary non-adherence, physical inactivity, mental health, and anatomic surgical failure, are possible etiologies of post-BMS IWL/WR. Risk factors: Preoperative body mass index (BMI), male gender, psychiatric conditions, comorbidities, age, poor diet, eating disorders, poor follow-ups, insufficient physical activity, micronutrients, and genetic-epigenetic factors are the most important RFs. Management Strategy: The basis of treatment is lifestyle interventions, including dietary, physical activity, psychological, and behavioral therapy. Pharmacotherapy can be added. In the last treatment line, different techniques of endoscopic surgery and revisional surgery can be used. Prevention: Behavioral and psychotherapeutic interventions, dietary therapy, and physical activity therapy are the essential components of prevention.

Conclusions

Many definitions exist for WR, less so for IWL. Etiologies and RFs are complex and multifactorial; therefore, the management and prevention strategy is multidisciplinary. Some knowledge gaps, especially for IWL, exist, and these gaps must be filled to strengthen the evidence used to guide patient counseling, selection, and improved outcomes.

Effects of probiotic supplementation with weight reducing intervention on anthropometric measures, body composition, eating behavior, and related hormone levels in patients with food addiction and weight regain after bariatric surgery: a study protocol for a randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND

One of the unfortunate events after bariatric surgery is the weight regain, which occurs in some patients. Food addiction is an eating disorder related to the brain-intestinal axis and can be effective in weight regain after bariatric surgery. In addition, the gut microbiome plays a vital role in eating behaviors, including food addiction. So, this study will aim to evaluate the effects of probiotic supplementation with a weight-reducing diet and cognitive behavioral therapy on anthropometric measures, body composition, eating behavior, and related hormone levels, leptin, oxytocin, and serotonin, in patients with food addiction and weight regain after bariatric surgery.

METHODS

We will carry out a triple-blinded randomized clinical trial for 12 weeks to evaluate the effect of probiotic supplementation with a weight-reducing diet and cognitive behavioral therapy on anthropometric measures, body composition, eating behavior, and related hormone levels including leptin, oxytocin, and serotonin, in patients with food addiction and weight regain after bariatric surgery.

DISCUSSION

Based on the available evidence, probiotic supplementation by modifying the intestinal microbiome can improve food addiction and subsequent weight loss.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT20220406054437N1 Registered on 2022-06-01.

Definition, Mechanisms and Predictors of Weight Loss Failure After Bariatric Surgery

It has been proven that surgery is more effective than non-surgical treatment in obese patients. However, this approach has several disadvantages, especially long-term weight loss. Weight loss failures can be broadly classified into two categories; insufficient weight loss (poor responder) and weight regain. However, a unified definition has not been established yet for each category, and there is no clear standard for the post-surgery time point to be used to assess weight loss failure. In addition, analyzing factors that contribute to weight loss failure will lead to strategies for reducing it. Therefore, many researchers have been interested in this subject and have published conflicting results. This review presents a definition for and describes the mechanisms and predictors of weight loss failure after bariatric surgery.

Relationship of depression, impulsivity, distress intolerance and coping styles with maladaptive eating patterns in bariatric candidates

PURPOSE

The study aimed to investigate the problematic eating patterns and understand their relationship to psychological constructs, including stress intolerance, coping mechanisms and impulsivity, and psychiatric symptoms among bariatric surgery candidates.

METHODS

The bariatric candidates were evaluated by psychiatric interview and standard scales assessing maladaptive eating behaviors (Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), Bulimia Investigatory Test-Edinburgh (BITE), Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ)), depression (Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)), psychiatric symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)), and psychological constructs (Distress Intolerance Index (DSI), Coping Styles Scale (CSS), UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale(UPPS)).

RESULTS

More than half (57.8%) had maladaptive eating behaviors, and 23.6% had binge-eating behavior. Depression and anxiety predicted EAT, BITE, and DEBQ emotional and external eating sub-scale scores; distress intolerance, helpless coping style, and impulsivity predicted maladaptive eating behaviors in bariatric candidates.

CONCLUSION

Maladaptive eating patterns play an essential role in the failure to lose weight and regain weight and are predicted by depression, anxiety, and psychological constructs in this study. Evaluation of pathological trait characteristics besides discrete psychiatric syndromes should be recommended in the pre-operation process to plan relevant interventions in the long-term management of weight.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level III, evidence obtained from well-designed cohort analytic studies.

Characteristics of Childhood Onset and Post-Puberty Onset Obesity and Weight Regain after Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy in Japanese Subjects: A Subgroup Analysis of J-SMART

INTRODUCTION

The psychosocial background of subjects with severe obesity developed from childhood onset obesity (CO) and their outcomes after bariatric surgery have not been fully investigated.

METHODS

305 subjects were enrolled in the J-SMART study, which examined the effects of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) in Japan, and categorized into two groups: CO defined as onset up to 13 years of age (CO group) and post-puberty onset obesity defined as onset after 13 years of age (PPO group). The subjects were followed up for at least 2 years and up to 5 years after LSG. Changes in physical parameters and remission of obesity-related comorbidities were assessed at 2 years after LSG. Weight regain (WR) was also assessed by evaluating the nadir weight after LSG and maximum weight thereafter during follow-up period.

RESULTS

The mean postoperative follow-up period was 3.0 ± 1.1 years. 40.0% of the subjects had CO and these subjects had higher BMI and HOMA-β and lower age, HbA1c, HDL cholesterol, and visceral/subcutaneous fat area ratio compared to those with PPO. The CO group was also characterized by having higher rates of mental retardation, developmental disorders, and obesity in either parent and lower rate of marriage compared to the PPO group. Two years after LSG, there were no differences in total weight loss and remission rates of diabetes, dyslipidemia, and sleep apnea syndrome between the two groups, although remission rate of hypertension was higher in the CO group. The CO group also had a higher rate of WR after LSG than the PPO group, with CO, BMI, mental disorder, and binge eating contributing to WR.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that CO might be associated with genetic and psychosocial factors. CO and PPO probably differ in pathogenesis and may require different treatment strategies.

Long-Term Weight Outcomes after Bariatric Surgery: A Single Center Saudi Arabian Cohort Experience

BACKGROUND

Obesity is considered a global chronic disease requiring weight management through lifestyle modification, pharmacotherapy, or weight loss surgery. The dramatic increase in patients with severe obesity in Saudi Arabia is paralleled with those undergoing bariatric surgery. Although known to be beneficial in the short term, the long-term impacts of surgery within this group and the sustainability of weight loss after surgery remains unclear.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to assess the long-term weight outcomes after bariatric surgery.

SETTING

The study was conducted at King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH), King Saud University Medical City (KSUMC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

An observational prospective cohort study on adult patients with severe obesity undergoing bariatric surgery (sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or Roux-en Y gastric bypass (RYGB)) during the period between 2009 and 2015 was conducted. Weight loss patterns were evaluated pre- and post-surgery through clinical and anthropometric assessments. Absolute weight loss was determined, and outcome variables: percent excess weight loss (%EWL), percent total weight loss (%TWL), and percent weight regain (%WR), were calculated. Statistical analysis using univariate and multivariate general linear modelling was carried out.

RESULTS

A total of 91 (46 males and 45 females) patients were included in the study, with the majority belonging to the SG group. Significant weight reductions were observed at 1 and 3 years of follow-up (p < 0.001) from baseline. The %EWL and %TWL were at their maximum at 3 years (72.4% and 75.8%) and were comparable between the SG and RYGB. Decrements in %EWL and %TWL and increases in %WR were seen from 3 years onwards from bariatric surgery until the study period ended. The yearly follow-up attrition rate was 20.8% at 1 year post-surgery, 26.4% at year 2, 31.8% at year 3, 47.3% at year 4, 62.6% at year 5, and 79.1% at end of study period (at year 6).

CONCLUSION

The major challenge to the successful outcome of bariatric surgery is in maintaining weight loss in the long-term and minimizing weight regain. Factors such as the type of surgery and gender need to be considered before and after surgery, with an emphasis on the need for long-term follow-up to enssure the optimal benefits from this intervention.