The primary aim of this study was to examine percent excess weight loss (%EWL) across and between racial groups at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months follow-up in patients who received sleeve gastrectomy (SG) or a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) operation. We hypothesized that ethnic minorities (blacks and Hispanics) would have a lower %EWL than whites at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months for both SG and RYGB operations. The secondary aim was to examine %EWL within racial groups at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months as a function of the type of bariatric operation. We hypothesized that whites, blacks, and Hispanics would have a greater %EWL with RYGB than with SG.
Methods
A total of 749 patients who underwent an SG or an RYGB operation from January 2008 to June 2014 were included. Data were collected from patients' electronic medical records. Self-reported data on race/ethnicity were also obtained from the electronic medical record and were classified into the following categories: white, Hispanic/Latino, African American or black, or other.
Results
Results revealed overall differences in %EWL between blacks and whites (P < .05) and no overall differences in %EWL between Hispanics and whites (P = .697). Follow-up analyses revealed that Hispanics differed from blacks in %EWL at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months (all P < .01) and that whites differed from blacks at 6 months (P < .05). There were no significant differences between whites and Hispanics during any follow-up period. Overall, the %EWL differed by operation type (P < .01), with RYGB associated with greater %EWL than SG. When stratified by race, the only difference was found in blacks, who had a greater %EWL after RYGB compared with SG (P < .01).
Conclusion
Our primary hypothesis was partially supported, as blacks but not Hispanics had a lower %EWL compared to whites at 6 months. An interesting finding is that blacks had a lower %EWL than Hispanics at every time point. Moreover, our secondary hypothesis was partially supported. Results revealed that overall RYGB was related to greater %EWL compared with SG, and within racial groups, among blacks only, RYGB was associated with a greater %EWL compared with SG.
