Effectiveness and Safety of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass in Elderly Patients-Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Introduction: As the population ages, there is more interest in bariatric surgery for older patients. There are controversies regarding the safety and effectiveness of surgical weight loss in this population.

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in patients over the age of 60 years with younger patients.

Methods: The available literature was searched for eligible studies up to February 2018. Inclusion criteria were reports on mortality, morbidity, percentage excess weight loss (%EWL), remission of diabetes, remission of hypertension, and remission of obstructive sleep apnea. Random effects meta-analyses were performed.

Results: The initial search yielded 2000 references. The final meta-analysis involved nine studies and revealed significant differences in mortality (odds ratio 4.38, 95% confidence interval [1.25, 15.31], p = 0.02), morbidity (OR 1.88, CI [1.07, 3.30], p = 0.03), %EWL (mean difference - 5.86, 95% CI [- 9.15, - 2.56], p < 0.001), and remission of comorbidities.

Conclusion: Higher mortality and morbidity were found in the group of older patients. The analysis suggested lower effectiveness of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for weight loss and improvement in comorbidity in older patients when compared with younger patients.