• Lukas Lunger, Andreas Melmer, Wolfgang Sturm, Claudia Lamina, Alexander Tschoner, Julia Engl, Armin Hönlinger, Clemens Engler, Peter Willeit, Stefan Kiechl, Johann Willeit, Dietmar Öfner, Heinz Wykypiel, Markus Laimer, Herbert Tilg, and Christoph Ebenbichler.
• Department of Internal Medicine I, Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Endocrinology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstr. 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria.
• Wien. Klin. Wochenschr. 2023 Mar 1; 135 (5-6): 151157151-157.

BackgroundBariatric surgery is a treatment option for patients with severe obesity and improves parameters of cardiovascular and/or metabolic disease. Carotid intima media thickness (C-IMT) is a surrogate measure of subclinical atherosclerosis. Previous studies showed short to mid-term arrest and even regression of C‑IMT progression following bariatric surgery. We aimed to investigate the long-term effect of weight loss on C‑IMT progression 10 years after bariatric surgery in comparison to a population-based control cohort.MethodsIn total, 21 eligible patients were examined preoperatively, at 5 and 10 years after bariatric surgery. Anthropometric parameters, plasma triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), insulin, and glucose were assessed at all three study visits. C‑IMT was measured via B‑mode scans of the common carotid artery. C‑IMT progression was measured in an age-matched and BMI-matched cohort selected from the population-based Bruneck study to compare with changes in C‑IMT progression after bariatric surgery.ResultsC‑IMT remained stable over the 10-year observation period after bariatric surgery. The control cohort showed a significant C‑IMT progression over 10 years. The difference in C‑IMT progression over 10 years was significant (p < 0.01) between both cohorts.ConclusionWeight loss induced by bariatric surgery halts the natural progression of C‑IMT over a 10-year observation period.© 2022. The Author(s).

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