Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Adolescents Undergoing Metabolic Bariatric Surgery

Abstract

While the lasting effect of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, the impact on adolescents undergoing bariatric surgery remains unseen. We examined the impact of the pandemic on adolescents undergoing metabolic bariatric surgery. Academic hospital, New York, NY. A single-institution review of prospectively collected data evaluated adolescents who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy between 2010 and 2023, forming two cohorts: pre-COVID (before March 1, 2019) and COVID (after March 1, 2020). Absolute and percent weight loss and body mass index (BMI) change at 6 and 12 months post-surgery were compared between cohorts. Multivariable linear regression models were constructed to estimate the association between weight loss, adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, and BMI. 358 patients were included: 245 in the pre-COVID cohort and 113 in the COVID cohort. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics. There were no significant differences between cohorts at 6 months in weight loss (21.6 kg vs. 22.5 kg, p=0.43), percent weight loss (18% vs. 18%, p=0.63), and BMI change (8.0 vs. 8.4, p=0.39) which was maintained at 12 months. In multivariate models, after adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, and baseline BMI, undergoing surgery during the pandemic was not associated with a difference in weight loss or BMI change at 6 and 12 months postoperatively. Despite the severe societal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy remained a durable intervention for adolescent obesity, with no observed differences in weight loss in patients undergoing surgery during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic.