Equitable Access, Lasting Results: The Influence of Socioeconomic Environment on Bariatric Surgery Outcomes

Low socioeconomic status (SES) correlates with higher obesity rates and challenges in accessing treatments like bariatric surgery (BS). This study aims to assess SES’s influence on medium-term BS outcomes in a setting of universal healthcare, ensuring equitable treatment access.

We conducted a retrospective analysis of 193 BS patients (1997–2018) at a tertiary care hospital. Weight loss was expressed as change in % total weight loss (%TWL) and excess body weight (EBW) loss. Successful BS was defined as > 50% EBW loss. SES was gauged using quartiles of the Spanish Deprivation Index. A multivariable Cox regression model evaluated SES impact on BS success over follow-up.

The mean follow-up was 6.9 ± 4.6 years; patients averaged 43.9 ± 11.8 years, with 29.7% men. Preoperative BMI was 48.2 ± 8.2 kg/m². At follow-up, BMI was 33.9 ± 6.6 kg/m², with 29.3 ± 12.02% of %TWL. No SES quartile differences in BS success were noted at follow-up (log rank p = 0.960). Cox regression revealed no SES disparities in BS outcomes post-adjustment. However, female sex (HR 1.903; p = 0.009) and diabetes mellitus (HR = 0.504; p = 0.010) correlated with weight-related outcomes.

In a universal healthcare system with equitable treatment access, medium-term BS outcomes remain consistent irrespective of patients’ socioeconomic status.