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Bariatric Surgery Is Highly Effective and Underutilized in Patients with ADHD: A 5-Year Retrospective Cohort Study

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Abstract

Introduction

Obesity and ADHD have become increasingly common diagnoses. In the last decade, research has found that there is a high prevalence of obesity in patients with ADHD. The mainstays of management in the general population include lifestyle modifications, pharmacotherapies, and/or bariatric surgery. However, there is a lack of understanding of appropriate management of patients with both ADHD and obesity.

Methods

We identified those with obesity for at least five consecutive years (BMI > 30) in the TriNetX database before separating into two groups based on the presence or absence of ADHD. We assessed both the distribution of treatment modalities and the change in average BMI over time in each of our four groups across 5 years.

Results

Average BMI decreased over time in all groups, with the smallest change seen in the ADHD Pharmacology cohort (− 0.366 kg/m2) and the largest in the ADHD Surgery group (− 8.532 kg/m2). Average BMIs at the 5-year mark were significantly different.

Conclusion

Our research found that pharmacological management of individuals with ADHD was only half as effective for individuals with ADHD than our control. Though surgical management of patients with ADHD is roughly 20 times more effective in managing obesity, it was not used as frequently in comparison to medication for management of weight.

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Data Availability

The original data presented in the study are included in the article, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author. The data that support the findings of this study are available from TriNetX. Restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for this study. Data are available from https://trinetx.com/with the permission of TriNetX.

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Author notes

  1. Kaitlyn Dickinson, Pritika Parmar, Amy Beth Reyes and Elijah W. Hale have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA

    Kaitlyn Dickinson, Pritika Parmar, Amy Beth Reyes & Elijah W. Hale

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  1. Kaitlyn Dickinson
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  2. Pritika Parmar
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Correspondence to Kaitlyn Dickinson.

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Key Points

• Obesity and ADHD have become increasingly prevalent in the last few decades.

• Pharmacotherapies for obesity are only half as effective for individuals with ADHD than for individuals without ADHD in helping them lose weight.

• Patients with both ADHD and obesity who underwent surgery lost over 20 times more weight compared to the ADHD Pharmacology group; however, surgery is used only a ninth as often as medication.

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Dickinson, K., Parmar, P., Reyes, A.B. et al. Bariatric Surgery Is Highly Effective and Underutilized in Patients with ADHD: A 5-Year Retrospective Cohort Study. OBES SURG (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-024-07211-7

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