Gender Influence on Long-Term Weight Loss and Comorbidities After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: a Prospective Study With a 5-Year Follow-up.

Background: Gender might be important in predicting outcomes after bariatric surgery. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of gender on long-term weight loss and comorbidity improvement after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB).

Methods: A cohort of 304 consecutive patients underwent surgery in 2006-2009: 162 (98 women, 64 men) underwent LSG and 142 (112 women, 30 men) underwent LRYGB. The mean follow-up time was 75.8 ± 8.4 months (range, 60-96 months).

Results: Overall mean (95% CI) reduction in BMI was 23.5 (24.3-22.7) kg/m(2) after 5 years, with no statistical difference between LSG and LRYGB groups (P = 0.94). The overall means ± standard deviations of %EBMIL after 5 years were 78.8 ± 23.5 and 81.6 ± 21.4 in the LSG and LRYGB groups, respectively. Only for LSG group %EBMIL after 24-36 and 60 months differed significantly between male and female patients (P = 0.003 versus P = 0.06 in LRYGB), and 89 versus 90% of patients showed improvements in comorbidities in the LSG and LRYGB groups, respectively. Only two patients (women) were lost to follow-up: 1/162 (0.6%) for LSG at the 4th year and 1/142 (0.7%) for LRYGB to the 5th year.

Conclusions: LSG was more effective in obese male than in female patients in terms of %EBMIL, with no difference in comorbidities. LRYGB elicited similar results in both genders in terms of %EBMIL and comorbidities.