Attitudes about the safety and efficacy of bariatric surgery among patients with type 2 diabetes and a body mass index of 30-40 kg/m2

Background: Despite increasing awareness within the medical community about the benefits of bariatric surgery for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), little is known about patients' attitudes toward bariatric surgery as a treatment for T2DM. The objective of this study was to investigate the attitudes of individuals with T2DM and a body mass index of 30 to 40 kg/m(2) concerning bariatric surgery for the treatment of T2DM.

Methods: Patients identified from the Pennsylvania Integrated Clinical and Administrative Research Database (PICARD) were surveyed about perceptions of the safety profile and efficacy of bariatric surgery as a treatment for obesity and T2DM and their willingness to be randomly assigned to receive a surgical procedure.

Results: A total of 130 individuals of 513 (25.3%) responded. Respondents had a median (interquartile range) age of 58.0 (range 51.0-63.0) years and self-reported body mass index of 32.9 (range 30.9-35.2) kg/m(2). Roughly half (66 of 130) were female. Overall, only 20.3% of respondents had positive views of bariatric surgery, with few reporting that it is a safe (14.3%) and effective (28.5%) treatment for T2DM. Less than 20% of respondents were willing to be randomly assigned to undergo a surgical procedure for the treatment of diabetes (16.1%) or obesity (17.5%).

Conclusions: Few obese individuals with T2DM who responded to the survey had positive views about bariatric surgery. Patients' concerns about the procedure's safety profile and efficacy must be addressed to improve the acceptability of bariatric surgery as well as the feasibility of randomized, controlled trials of bariatric surgery for these individuals.