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Improvement of Work Ability After Weight Loss Surgery: Results of a Longitudinal Study of Patients Suffering from Extreme Obesity Before and 4 Years After Bariatric Surgery

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Abstract

Purpose

Body mass index (BMI) is directly associated with employment status. Our longitudinal prospective study is aimed at ascertaining whether work ability index (WAI) 4 years after surgery remains improved, such as 1 year after surgery, or changes and whether socio-demographic or psycho-social factors influence changes in work ability.

Materials and Methods

197 bariatric surgery candidates were recruited. Data on demographic and psycho-social characteristics were collected prior to surgery (t1) and at 6 (t2), 12 (t3), and 48 months (t4). Change effects over time in the WAI and BMI were investigated using a repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was calculated to predict socio-demographic and psychosocial characteristics at t1 on WAI at t4.

Results

Not only a significant increase in WAI was observed between t1 and t2 and between t3 and t4 but also a significant decrease between t2 and t4. BMI reduction was significant between t1 and t2 and t3 and t4, respectively. There was no significant interaction effect of BMI reduction 4 years after surgery on decreased work ability from t2 to t4. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed an association of WAI scores at t1 on WAI scores at t4 only.

Conclusions

Work ability 4 years after surgery remained significantly improved compared to the values at t1–t3 assessment. Since work ability was the only predictor at t1, findings might indicate the use of psycho-social measures post bariatric surgery to increase work ability. There was no association between work ability and other socio-demographic or psycho-social factors.

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Data Availability

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General, Visceral and Bariatric Surgery, Herzogin Elisabeth Hospital, Leipziger Str. 24, 38124, Brunswick, Germany

    Hinrich Köhler, Ioana A. Bollenbach, Kerstin Gruner-Labitzke & Jan N. Bollenbach

  2. Department of General, Visceral, Vascular and Bariatric Surgery, Klinikum Nordstadt, 30167, Hannover, Germany

    Clara Böker

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Hildesheim, 31141, Hildesheim, Germany

    Valentin Markov & Christoph Kröger

Authors
  1. Hinrich Köhler
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  2. Ioana A. Bollenbach
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  3. Kerstin Gruner-Labitzke
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  4. Jan N. Bollenbach
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  5. Clara Böker
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  6. Valentin Markov
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Contributions

Hinrich Köhler contributed to the concept of study design, data acquisition, and the drafting of the manuscript.

Ioana Andreea Bollenbach contributed to the concept of study design, data acquisition, and the drafting of the manuscript.

Valentin Markov contributed to statistical analysis and the drafting of the manuscript.

Jan Nikolas Bollenbach contributed to the critical revision of the manuscript.

Kerstin Gruner-Labitzke and Clara Böker contributed to the critical revision of the manuscript.

Christoph Kröger contributed to the concept of study design, statistical analysis, critical revision of the manuscript, and data postprocessing.

We confirm that the final version of this paper was read and approved by all authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ioana A. Bollenbach.

Ethics declarations

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

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. Written informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of the University of Braunschweig (M-2015–07).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Key Points

• Work ability 4 years after surgery remains higher than at the preoperative phase.

• The highest level of work ability was reached 6 months after bariatric surgery.

• Patients who benefit less from bariatric surgery reported lower long-term work ability.

• No association between the evolution of work ability and any socio-demographic or psycho-social factors was observed.

Hinrich Köhler and Ioana A. Bollenbach have contributed equally to this work and share first authorship.

Valentin Markov and Christoph Kröger have contributed equally to this work and share last authorship.

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Köhler, H., Bollenbach, I.A., Gruner-Labitzke, K. et al. Improvement of Work Ability After Weight Loss Surgery: Results of a Longitudinal Study of Patients Suffering from Extreme Obesity Before and 4 Years After Bariatric Surgery. OBES SURG 33, 1347–1355 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-023-06548-9

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