Youth Use of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery on the Rise

FRIDAY, June 2, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Use of and access to metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) increased among U.S. youth overall and for most racial and ethnic groups from 2015 to 2021, according to a research letter published online May 30 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Sarah E. Messiah, Ph.D., from University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and colleagues examined trends in MBS use among U.S. youth (aged 10 to 19 years) before and after the 2019 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statement. The analysis included data from the 2015 to 2021 participant use files (1.3 million) from the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program.

The researchers found that the MBS completion rates in youths increased from pre-AAP statement release through 2021, overall and for each ethnic subgroup. From 2020 to 2021, there were 18.85 and 24.36 percent year-to-year increases in MBS rates for youth and adults, respectively. MBS completion increased from 182 to 258 procedures in Black youths, from 179 to 273 procedures in Hispanic youths, and from 459 to 518 procedures in White youths in 2021.

"Results of the present study suggest cautious optimism regarding the decreasing barriers to MBS for those U.S. youth in need," the authors write.

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