High-Risk Alcohol Use and Disordered Eating Behavior Before and 1 Year After Sleeve Gastrectomy

Abstract

BackgroundEvidence suggests a rise in alcohol misuse after some bariatric procedures. Whether undergoing sleeve gastrectomy raises the risk of high-risk alcohol use is unclear.ObjectiveTo characterize the risk of high-risk alcohol use 1 year after sleeve gastrectomy and collect preliminary data on potential associations between disordered eating and high-risk drinking post-surgery.MethodsWe interviewed 97 patients before and 1 year after sleeve gastrectomy and assessed for high-risk alcohol use via a modified version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C). Eating behavior was assessed using the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire Revised-18 (TFEQ-R18).ResultsThe prevalence of high-risk drinking increased from 13.4% prior to surgery to 22.7% 1 year after sleeve gastrectomy; 16.5% of our sample reported new high-risk drinking equivalent to an incidence of 19.0%. New high-risk drinkers appeared more likely to report lower cognitive restraint scores and higher scores for emotional and uncontrolled eating at baseline and had larger improvements in disordered eating scores post-surgery although these differences approached, but did not reach, statistical significance.ConclusionOne in five non-high-risk drinkers developed new high-risk alcohol intake 1 year after sleeve gastrectomy. New high-risk drinkers appear to have greater disordered eating at baseline and reported greater improvement in eating behavior than those who did not develop new high-risk drinking. These results are consistent with the addiction transfer hypothesis postulating that some patients may replace disordered eating with alcohol misuse after sleeve gastrectomy.Graphical abstract Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11695-021-05847-3.