Quality of life in different types of bariatric surgeries: A cross-sectional study

Abstract Background: In recent decades, obesity emerged as a prominent health issue. Its treatments range from restrictive diet to invasive surgical procedures, the latter gaining popularity in patients with morbid obesity. However, outcomes between different procedures still range. This study was conducted to determine the extent of improvement in quality of life (QoL) in different areas following different types of bariatric operations. Subjects and Methods: This observational cross-sectional study was done in August 2023. All patients who underwent bariatric procedures at a tertiary center were contacted through phone to complete a questionnaire assessing the QoL following bariatric surgery. QoL was assessed using an Arabic version of the RAND 36-item Health Survey, a standardized and validated questionnaire. Results: This study included 219 patients; 60.7% were females, with a mean age of 35.20 ± 10.42 at surgery time. Gastric sleeve was the most reported operation (81.7%), followed by gastric bypass (12.3%). QoL scores were similar for patients undergoing bypass and sleeve. However, in the long term, those who have undergone gastric bypass have shown better outcomes. Patients who had gastric bypass following gastric sleeve reported the poorest score in all sections except for the emotional well-being. Personal factors such as smoking also impacted QoL. Smokers scored significantly less in physical functioning than nonsmokers (45.44 ± 39.42 vs. 55.09 ± 38.27, P = 0.024). Conclusion: Gastric bypass resulted in a better QoL compared to gastric sleeve, especially beyond 5 years postoperatively.