Factors Associated with Progress from First Appointment to Surgery in a Public Bariatric Service

Introduction: Obesity is a major global public health problem with significant psychological and physical impacts as well as associated costs to healthcare systems. Bariatric surgery is an important tool in the treatment of obesity and previous studies have shown poor rates of progression to surgery in patients referred for surgery. The aim of this study was to identify patient and disease factors associated with successful progression from First Specialist Assessment (FSA) to Surgery in our public bariatric service. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients seen at Waikato Hospital’s public bariatric clinic between January 2017 and December 2020. Patient demographics and disease characteristics including BMI and comorbidities were analysed to identify factors associated with progression to surgery. Results: Of 359 patients in total, 92 patients (25.6%) ultimately received surgery and were more likely to be Europeans aged 20-50 years. By ethnicity, rate of progression to surgery was lowest among Mori patients (19.2%). Conclusion: We found a low proportion of patients to progress through to surgery at our publicly-funded bariatric service. Progression to surgery was especially low among Mori patients who made up a significant proportion of our cohort.