Clinical-epidemiological assessment of patients undergoing bariatric and metabolic surgery in a medium-complexity service in Maranhão, Brazil.

Introduction: the obesity is defined as the excessive accumulation of fat in different areas of the body, a condition that causes damage to health and is a critical risk factor for various comorbidities. Bariatric surgery is the therapeutic option with the best results.

Methods: this is a retrospective descriptive study using data obtained from medical records from January 2018 to December 2020 on patients undergoing bariatric surgery. Statistical analysis used a significance level of p<0.05.

Results: 178 medical records were included, 77.5% of which were women. The average age was 35.7 years (± 9.5), 63.8% of the patients were from Imperatriz, 98.3% reported a sedentary lifestyle, 38.7% regular alcohol consumption and 13% smoking. The prevalence of Class III obesity (BMI≥40 kg/m²) was 53.3%. The most common comorbidities were hepatic steatosis (64.6%), type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) (40.5%) and hypertension (38.7%). The main type of surgery performed was Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) (89.3%). There was an association between median BMI and gender (p=0.008), with women showing higher values [43.4 (IQR 39.1 - 48.8)]. The mean BMI of patients who underwent RYGB was significantly higher compared to those who underwent vertical gastrectomy (VG) (p=0.009). There was a statistical association between DM2 (p=0.033) and depression (p=0.018) and the type of surgery performed.

Conclusion: the clinical and epidemiological profile found showed a higher prevalence of females and individuals with Class III obesity. RYGB was the most commonly performed procedure, establishing an association with BMI and some of the patients' comorbidities.