Sociodemographic factors related to bariatric follow-up appointment attendance and weight outcomes.

Background: Follow-up care after bariatric surgery is essential in preventing postsurgical complications and promoting long-term weight loss maintenance. However, many patients do not attend postsurgical appointments with the bariatric team, which may contribute to poor surgical outcomes.

Objectives: This study sought to understand sociodemographic factors related to follow-up appointment attendance and weight outcomes. The first objective was to determine whether there was a relationship between 1-year follow-up appointment attendance and sociodemographic factors. The second objective was to determine whether patients from certain sociodemographic groups were more likely to attend a 2-year follow-up appointment. The third objective was to determine whether there were differences in weight outcomes for patients who attended follow-up appointments compared with those who did not attend.

Setting: University hospital, United States.

Methods: This study was a retrospective observational study. Participants included 841 adult patients who underwent bariatric surgery, of whom 505 (60.05%) attended a 1-year appointment with the bariatric team (348 attended a follow-up visit with another medical provider), and 398 (47.32%) who had any follow-up medical visit at 2 years after surgery. Sociodemographic variables were collected during a presurgical psychological evaluation. Weight-related variables were obtained through patients' electronic medical records 12 and 24 months after surgery.

Results: Younger patients and those with lower education levels were less likely to attend the 1-year follow-up appointment with the bariatric team. People who attend 1-year follow-up with bariatric team have more favorable weight outcomes at 1 year and 2 years after surgery.

Conclusions: Follow-up appointment attendance with the bariatric team may be a critical factor in the effectiveness of bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgery teams should employ strategies to increase attendance at the 1-year follow-up visit with the surgical team. Additional strategies should be enacted to increase follow-up appointment attendance for patients with lower education levels.