Second Year After Weight Loss Surgery May Be Riskiest
June 18, 2012 -- Two years after weight loss surgery, people may be particularly vulnerable to alcohol abuse problems.
That news comes from a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"What we found was more gastric bypass patients reported symptoms of alcohol use disorder in the second year after surgery, compared to pre-surgery or the first year after surgery," researcher Wendy C. King, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, tells WebMD.
The study will also be presented today in San Diego at the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery's annual meeting.
For years, there have been anecdotal reports of alcohol abuse becoming more likely after weight loss surgery. But studies on that haven't been conclusive, King tells WebMD.
King's new study included nearly 2,000 obese U.S. men and women who had weight loss surgery at any of 10 U.S. hospitals.
They filled out surveys before surgery, a year later, and the year after that.
The survey included questions about alcohol use. The researchers used it to identify who had alcohol use disorders, defined as abuse or dependence.
There was no spike in alcohol use disorders in the first year after weight loss surgery. While 7.6% of patients had alcohol problems before surgery, 7.3% had them one year after.
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After Bariatric Surgery, Alcohol Abuse More Likely
