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The Socio-economic Impact of Bariatric Surgery

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Abstract

Introduction

A recurring argument for bariatric surgery is cost savings due to sustained weight loss and reductions in comorbidities. However, studies prompting this argument tend to focus only on health care costs, and in some of them, cost changes after surgery have been modelled. The aim of this study was to generate real-world evidence on the socio-economic impact of bariatric surgery, by evaluating the effect on both direct and indirect costs.

Materials and Methods

Using real-world data from national registries, predictions of health care costs, social transfer payments and income were performed for a surgically treated individual and compared to those for a similar but non-surgically treated individual 3 years before and after surgery. Secondly, the relative risks for health care costs, social transfer payments and income of a surgical group compared with a non-surgical group were estimated. The non-surgical group was defined as being eligible for bariatric surgery but not undergoing it.

Results

Bariatric surgery was associated with higher, but insignificantly so, health care costs, primarily due to an increase in somatic inpatient services. A significant decrease in costs of drugs was seen, especially for anti-diabetic medication. Bariatric surgery had a slight positive effect on social transfer payments and no significant effect on income.

Conclusions

There are no cost savings of bariatric surgery in the short run. Further real-world evidence over a longer period of time is needed to examine whether the higher health care costs will eventually be counterbalanced, making bariatric surgery a profitable intervention in a socio-economic perspective.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, 1353, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Arendse Tange Larsen

  2. Danish Institute for Local and Regional Government Research, KORA, Købmagergade 22, 1150, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Betina Højgaard & Jakob Kjellberg

  3. i2minds, Møllegade 32, Aarhus, 8000, Denmark

    Rikke Ibsen

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  1. Arendse Tange Larsen
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  2. Betina Højgaard
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  4. Jakob Kjellberg
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Correspondence to Arendse Tange Larsen.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethics

The study was reported to the Danish Data Protection Agency. Because the study neither involved biological material nor any form of intervention but merely register data, there was no need for an ethical approval under the Committee Act.

Statement of Informed Consent

The study was approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency. Because the study only involved register data and no interventions or biological material, no ethical approval was required.

Statement of Human and Animal Rights

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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The study received no funding.

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Larsen, A.T., Højgaard, B., Ibsen, R. et al. The Socio-economic Impact of Bariatric Surgery. OBES SURG 28, 338–348 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-017-2834-z

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