Cardiovascular Benefits and Lipid Profile Changes 5 Years After Bariatric Surgery: A Comparative Study Between Sleeve Gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass

Visceral adipose tissue has been linked with cardiovascular events. Visceral adiposity index (VAI) is a routinely applicable tool for evaluation of visceral adipose dysfunction and linked to 10 year-cardiovascular risk. No previous studies have evaluated the changes over time of the VAI in patients who underwent different types of bariatric surgery. We reviewed data of 42 patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) and 61 patients who underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB). VAI, lipid profile, and several anthropometric variables were measured before and after 5 years following surgery. During the studied time period, the BMI was similar between LSG and LRYGB patients (34.1 vs 31.6; p = 0.191), but the percentage of total weight loss (%TWL) for LRYGB was significantly higher than LSG (31.3% vs 23.0%; p < 0.001). LRYGB patients had a significant improvement of all lipid parameters evaluated over time, while LSG patients experienced only a reduction in triglycerides (TG) levels and an increase in HDL cholesterol (HDL-C). VAI values were similar in the two groups at baseline as well at the last follow-up point (5-year VAI, LSG: 0.93, RYGB: 0.93; p = 0.951). At multivariate regression analysis, 5-year-%TWL was the only independent predictor of a greater amount of VAI reduction over time. Bariatric surgery, independent of the type of surgical procedure, decreases the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks due to weight loss and improvement of lipid parameters. VAI could be a useful tool to better identify eligible patients for bariatric surgery and to determine the success of surgery.