Type 2 diabetes mellitus remission after bariatric surgery in Hispanic patients from Costa Rica

Abstract

Although bariatric surgery is considered a cost-effective technique to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), long-term clinical outcomes of this surgical procedure are unknown in our region. The aim of this study was to report the T2DM remission rate at 3 years in Hispanic patients treated at our referral center. We retrospectively reviewed clinical records from all T2DM patients who underwent bariatric surgery in our center. T2DM remission rate at 3 years was considered if patients had A1c ≤ 5.7% and fasting glucose ≤100 mg/dl in the absence of diabetic medication. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to detect prognostic variables of remission. Thirty-three patients were included in this study. Nineteen subjects underwent gastric sleeve and 14 patients Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). Mean body mass index at baseline was 51.1 ± 8.8 kg/m2 and mean glycosylated hemoglobin was 7.8 ± 1.8%. After 3 years, the percentage of weight change from baseline was 26.7% ± 10%. T2DM remission was achieved by 22 patients (66.6%). T2DM remission did not vary according to the type of surgery. Nevertheless, patients with T2DM remission had shorter duration of known diabetes (2.0 years vs. 5.5 years; P = 0.047) and larger weight change loss (−29.6% vs. −22.5%; P = 0.04) than patients without remission. After multivariate analysis, only fasting glucose plasma levels were associated with T2DM remission. Bariatric surgery is associated with high T2DM remission rate among Hispanic patients from Costa Rica. Prospective data are needed to determine predictors of T2DM remission.