The association of bariatric surgery and carpal tunnel syndrome: A propensity score-matched cohort study

Abstract

ObjectivesTo test the hypothesis that weight loss following bariatric surgery is associated with a reduced risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) when compared to obese patients who do not undergo bariatric surgery. MethodsWe performed a cohort study using data from Swedish nationwide healthcare registries. Patients aged 18-79 years who underwent bariatric surgery 2006-2019 were propensity score (PS)-matched to up to 2 obese bariatric surgery-free patients (“unexposed patients”). Cox proportional hazard regression was used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to compare the incidence of CTS among bariatric surgery patients to obese unexposed patients both overall and divided by subgroups of age, sex, bariatric surgery type, and duration of follow-up. Results40,619 bariatric surgery patients were PS-matched to 63,540 obese unexposed patients who did not undergo surgery. Bariatric surgery was not associated overall with CTS (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.91-1.05). There was a 23% decreased risk of CTS incidence observed within >1-3 years after bariatric surgery (HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.68-0.88). Decreased CTS risks were observed among bariatric surgery patients aged 18-34 years (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.74-1.01) and those who underwent sleeve gastrectomy (HR 0.81, 95% CI 0.63-1.03), but these risks did not reach significance compared to obese unexposed patients. However, there was a 20% increased CTS risk after 6 years (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.05-1.36). ConclusionOur results suggest that marked weight does not have a lasting impact in the reduction of CTS incidence.