Alcohol-Related Problems Common Eight Years After Metabolic, Bariatric Surgery in Teens

FRIDAY, Dec. 30, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly half of adolescents who undergo metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) screen positively for alcohol use disorder, symptoms of alcohol-related harm, or alcohol-related problems eight years after surgery, according to a study published online Nov. 17 in the Annals of Surgery.

Gretchen E. White, Ph.D., from University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and colleagues examined alcohol use, alcohol-related harm, and alcohol-related problems preoperatively and up to eight years following MBS (2007 to 2011) in 217 adolescents.

The researchers found that alcohol use frequency and average quantity of drinks per drinking day increased postoperatively (2 percent consumed alcohol two to four times/month at six months versus 24 percent at eight years postoperatively; 2 percent consumed three or more drinks per drinking day at six months versus 35 percent at eight years postoperatively). At eight years, the cumulative incidence of postoperative-onset elevated Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Consumption score, alcohol-related harm, and alcohol-related problems was 45, 43, and 47 percent, respectively.

"Alcohol use disorder evaluation and treatment should be integrated into routine long-term care for adolescents undergoing MBS," the authors write.

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