Without marked difference among age groups, mental QOL is rapidly improved after gastric bypass, and 5 years postoperatively, patients aged 60 and older report noticeable and sustained improvements in physical and obesity specific QOL, according to a study published in Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases. Peter Gerber, MD, PhD, and colleagues investigated the effect of age on HRQOL over time following gastric bypass. In all age groups, mental aspects of the Short Form Health Survey were improved at 1 and 2 years but decreased to baseline at 5 years. Postoperative improvements in physical and obesity-specific QOL were also sustained in all age groups. Despite relatively lower increases in physical and obesity-specific QOL in patients aged 60 and older when compared with the entire cohort at 5 years, these values were drastically improved compared with baseline. “These observations support previous studies that older patients should not be denied bariatric surgery from a risk-benefit perspective, solely based on age,” the study authors wrote.
