A new study reported in Annals of Surgery Open suggests that bariatric surgery, also known as weight-loss surgery, may help reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia in people with obesity. You Chen, PhD, Yubo Feng, MS, Sayeed Ikramuddin, MD, and colleagues analyzed medical records from over 15,900 patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center from 2000 to 2023.
The researchers compared 5,303 patients who underwent bariatric surgery with 10,606 matched patients with obesity who did not have the procedure. After accounting for various health factors, they found that bariatric surgery was associated with a 63% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and a 43% lower risk of mild cognitive impairment. And among patients who developed mild cognitive impairment, those who had undergone bariatric surgery developed it about two years later than those who did not, suggesting that the surgery may have delayed the onset.
The authors note that their findings may reflect unmeasured differences between groups, such as lifestyle factors or access to health care, and they say further research is needed to understand how bariatric surgery might influence brain health, potentially through improved metabolism or reduced inflammation.
Others on the study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center include Xinmeng Zhang, Katherine Gifford, PsyD, Jason Samuels, MD, Wayne English, MD, Charles Flynn, PhD, and Danxia Yu, PhD.
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant UL1TR002243).
