Gastrointestinal quality of life following bariatric surgery in Asian patients

Background/Aims: Bariatric surgery is the only proven method that produces sustained weight loss. We aimed to investigate the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) differences between obese patients following laparoscopic mini-gastric bypass (LMGB), laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) in this study. Methodology: From December 2005 to December 2007, we enrolled 152 patients who received bariatric surgery, including 41 men and 111 women, mean age 32.6±9.4 years and mean BMI 37.4±7.9kg/m² (range 32.0-64.9). Clinical characteristics and quality of life were analyzed. Results: One year after bariatric surgery, the mean general score of GIQLI improved significantly (p=0.000). All patients had improvement in three domains of the questionnaire (social function, physical status and emotional status) but not in gastrointestinal symptoms. The preoperative general score was 105.9±15.4 points in LMGB group, 110.9±14.8 points in LAGB group and 99.0±19.8 points in LSG group, respectively. Despite a significant difference between three groups regarding preoperative GIQLI scores (p=0.001), the 1-year results failed to show any significant difference in a comparison of postoperative GIQLI scores (p=0.082). Conclusions: In conclusion, our study has demonstrated significant improvement in quality of life 1-year after laparoscopic bariatric surgery. The improvement of GIQLI scores in three domains of social function, physical status and emotional status can be offered to obese patients before surgery.