Diabetes Remission through Weight Loss Surgery

The results of a small, four-year study published in January 2008 may have big implications for Type 2 diabetes patients. Associate Professor John Dixon and Professor Paul O’Brien, of Monash University Medical School in Melbourne, Australia, monitored the results of 60 volunteers who had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes within the previous two years. All patients were clinically obese. Approximately half of those patients underwent stomach banding surgery while the other half was supervised with standard diabetes care, including weight loss efforts through diet and exercise.

Two years later, 73% of the surgical group appeared to be in diabetes remission compared to 13% of the standard-care group. The surgical group experienced an average loss of 46 pounds while patients in the standard-care group lost an average of 3 pounds.

Obesity and diabetes tend to accompany one another with rates rising at alarming rates. Larger studies are currently being planned to further explore the effects of weight loss surgery on diabetes management. A Cleveland Clinic study, led by Dr. Phillip Schauer, will compare standard diabetes care with the stomach banding surgery, as used in the Australian study, and gastric bypass surgery which is the more common method in the US.

The risk of death in weight loss surgery is currently less than 1-2%, depending on the method of surgery. Rates of complication rise with a person’s weight, being greater for the morbidly obese than the obese. Long-term diabetes health risks need to be considered against potential benefits and risks of weight loss surgery.

The single most important factor in bringing Type 2 diabetes into a state of remission appears to be weight loss. “We found that the amount of weight loss was a key determinant of effectiveness. Most of those losing 10 percent of their total weight had remission of the diabetes. Few who lost less did so,” said Professor O’Brien of the Australian study.