SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN BLOOD-PRESSURE, GLUCOSE, AND LIPIDS WITH GASTRIC BYPASS-SURGERY

The morbidly obese have a disproportionately greater risk of hypertens ion, diabetes, and coronary artery disease than their lean or less ser iously obese counterparts. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery has been f ound to be highly effective in inducing, and sustaining, weight loss i n individuals with morbid obesity. The purpose of the present study wa s to examine the effects of weight loss with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (GBP) on blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and the lipid/ lipoprotein status of 61 morbidly obese women and 21 men. Anthropometr ic and blood pressure assessments and blood samples for glucose and li pid lipoprotein analyses were obtained before surgery and at 6 to 12 m onths postoperatively. By this time, morbidly obese (MO) males and fem ales had lost 33% and 30% of their initial body weight, respectively, along with significant reductions in fasting blood glucose (p < 0.01) and systemic blood pressure (p < 0.05). Weight loss with GBP was also associated with significant reductions in the apoprotein B-containing lipoproteins and the triglyceride and cholesterol composition of these particles. There was a trend (p < 0.10) toward increased serum levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol following GBP, and sign ificant (p < 0.05) improvement in HDL subfraction distribution and com position. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of GBP in induc ing metabolic changes in the MO population, which may reduce the risk of coronary artery disease, diabetes, and hypertension.