Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Early Results After Sleeve Gastrectomy

Purpose Obesity and its related metabolic diseases are a widespread public health problem worldwide. In recent years, surgical methods have played a very important role in the treatment of obesity and metabolic diseases. This study aims to investigate the effects of patients' socioeconomic status (SES) on the early results of sleeve gastrectomy (SG), which is the most preferred metabolic bariatric surgery (MBS) procedure in the world. Methods Data of SG patients who were operated on in the general surgery clinic of a tertiary hospital were analyzed retrospectively. A total of 322 patients who completed at least three months of follow-up after surgery were included in the study. Patients were divided into three groups - low, medium, and high - according to their SES. The effects of SES on weight loss and comorbidities associated with obesity were evaluated. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kruksal Wallis, and chi-square tests were used in the statistical analysis of the data. Results The groups were homogeneous in terms of age and body mass index (BMI). There was no statistically significant difference among income groups in terms of the age, BMI, and excess weight loss (EWL) variables (p>0.05). In addition, when the relations among income groups and gender, diabetes mellitus (DM), and other diseases were examined, it was concluded that there was no relation between income status and other variables (p>0.05). Conclusion SES of patients has no effect on the early results of SG.