Gastric bypass surgery causes type 2 diabetes to go into remission

A new study published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD]) has found that three quarters of individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who were treated with obesity surgery known as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB) experienced diabetes remission within one year of treatment.

Predictors for higher likelihood of success include the patient being younger, lower glycated haemoglobin levels (HbA1c, which is an indication of lower blood glucose levels and thus blood sugar control), shorter duration and lesser severity of diabetes, and the individual being male. Emerging long-term follow-up data have also revealed a considerable risk of the disease reappearing after the initial remission period.

This study analysed the effect of RYGB on diabetes remission and the factors that predict it, together with the likelihood of relapse. It also studied the risk of surgical complications, and the incidence of microvascular and macrovascular complications.