Anaemia and Related Nutritional Deficiencies in Chinese Patients with Obesity, 12 Months Following Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

Background: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) has become a predominant bariatric procedure at present. However, data are scarce regarding the nutritional impact of this procedure on Chinese patients. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of nutritional deficiency after LSG in Chinese patients.

Methods: Eighty-two patients with obesity were recruited from the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, and all patients underwent LSG and completed the visit.

Results: Compared with the baseline, the serum albumin levels increased significantly at 1-12 months (<0.001) after surgery, and the hypoalbuminemia rate decreased from 8.5% to 0% throughout the study (=0.063). Anaemia was present in 7.3% of all patients before surgery, and its prevalence increased to 11.0% at 12 months post-operation (=0.109). The anaemia rate of fertile females was higher than that of males (21.4% vs 2.3%, =0.036). No significant changes were found in vitamin B12 deficiency throughout the study (0% vs 3.8%, =1.0). The increases in the folate deficiency were only discovered in the female group (3.7% vs 20%, =0.031) and the obese without type 2 diabetes (T2D) group after LSG (27.3% vs 47.1%, =0.031). A decrease in the ferritin levels and an increase in iron deficiency at 12 months post-surgery were found among all patients.

Conclusion: Based on 12 months of follow-up, LSG is effective in controlling metabolic syndrome and has a modest effect on nutritional deficiencies, which suggests that LSG is an effective and comparably safe procedure for Chinese patients considering nutritional deficiencies at 12 months post-surgery.