Longer-Term Follow-Up from a Bariatric Surgery Trial for Diabetic Patients

In a previously published report from a randomized Cleveland Clinic trial, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy were more likely than medical therapy (42% and 37% vs. 12%) to lower glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA_1c) levels to ≤6% in 150 obese diabetic patients (mean age at baseline, 48; mean body-mass index at baseline, 36 kg/m²) at 1 year (NEJM JW Gen Med Mar 26 2012). Now, the researchers present longer-term outcomes.

At 3 years, the proportions of patients whose HbA_1c levels were ≤6% and who no longer were taking diabetes medications remained significantly higher in the gastric-bypass and sleeve-gastrectomy groups than in the medical-treatment group (35% and 20% vs. 0%). On standardized questionnaires that reflected eight quality-…