title: Cardiovascular risk factors after bariatric surgery: Do patients gain more than expected from their substantial weight loss?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While it has been established that even limited weight loss (5-10%) improves obesity-associated cardiovascular risk factors, it is not known if considerable weight loss following laparoscopic adjustable silicone gastric banding (LASGB) results in a cardiovascular risk profile that is comparable, worse, or even better than that of matched control subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cardiovascular risk factors were compared in three groups of 24 women each: an index group that had lost considerable weight following LASGB for morbid obesity (BMI>40 kg/m(2)), a control group with the same BMI that the index group achieved after weight loss, and a pre-weight loss group of women with a BMI above 40 kg/m(2). Anthropometric measures, fasting serum glucose, insulin, lipids, C-reactive protein, and homocysteine levels were determined and insulin sensitivity was estimated using a homeostasis model assessment index (HOMA-IR).
  
  
  RESULTS
  After bariatric surgery, the index group had a BMI of 32.0+/-0.8 kg/m(2). This resulted in a significantly better cardiovascular risk profile than that of the pre-weight loss group (BMI 42.8+/-0.6 kg/m(2)). Unexpectedly, after weight loss, the index group had significantly lower systolic blood pressure, fasting serum insulin, and HOMA-IR than the BMI-matched (32.8+/-0.9 kg/m(2)) control group. Although not significant, diastolic blood pressure, LDL-cholesterol, and CRP levels were also lower.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Considerable weight loss following bariatric surgery leads to a greater improvement in cardiovascular risk factors than might be expected from the weight loss.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine of Leiden University Medical Centre, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Jazet
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: de Groot
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Tuijnebreyer
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Fogteloo
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Vandenbroucke
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Meinders