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Bariatric surgery use climbing, especially in white adolescent girls
Jen HC.Pediatrics. 2010;doi:10.1542/peds.2010-0412.
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White adolescents represented more than 65% of young people who underwent elective bariatric surgery, despite comprising only 28% of overweight adolescents in California, according to a study published in Pediatrics.
Similarly, girls represented 78% of those who underwent bariatric surgery, but only comprised 43% of overweight adolescents, researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles reported.
The researchers also found that the number of adolescents who underwent laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding increased sevenfold, despite the fact that the procedure is not FDA-approved for use in children. The rate of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding increased from 0.3 to 1.5 per 100,000 adolescents. This corresponded with a decreased rate of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass procedures, from 3.8 to 2.7 per 100,000 adolescents.
The study included 590 adolescents who underwent bariatric surgery in 86 hospitals from 2005 to 2007. The purpose was to analyze trends and outcomes of adolescents who underwent bariatric surgery.
When the researchers further examined bariatric procedures by race/ethnicity, they found that although Hispanics represented 52% of overweight adolescents in California, they only comprised 21% of those who underwent bariatric surgery.
“Although laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass is still the standard of care for morbidly obese adolescents who seek surgical intervention, our study … revealed a dramatic increase in the use of laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding,” the researchers wrote.
Self-payers were more likely to undergo laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, rather than Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Similarly, patients who underwent the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass were more likely to pay using private insurance.
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