Reduction in Framingham Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Obese Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), with weight loss offering improvement in CVD risk factors. AIMS: To examine whether weight loss in laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB)-treated obese patients is associated with meaningful reductions in estimated 10- and 30- year Framingham CVD risk 12–15 months post-LAGB. METHODS: Obese adult patients [body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m(2)] treated with LAGB were identified in a large US healthcare database. Patients without CVD at baseline and with measures of BMI, systolic blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking status at baseline and follow-up were eligible. Non-LAGB patients were propensity score matched to LAGB patients on baseline BMI, age, and gender. Estimated 10- and 30-year risk of developing CVD using office-based data, including BMI, was calculated at baseline and 12–15 months follow-up. RESULTS: Mean BMI in LAGB patients (n = 647, average age 45.66 years, 81.1% female) decreased from 42.7 to 33.4 kg/m(2) (P < 0.0001), with 35.4% no longer obese; 10- and 30-year estimated CVD risk decreased from 10.8 to 7.6% (P < 0.0001) and 44.34 to 32.30% (P < 0.0001), respectively, 12–15 months post-LAGB. Improvements were significantly greater than in non-LAGB patients (N = 4,295) (P < 0.0001). In the subset with lipid data (n = 74), improvements in total (−20.6 mg/dL; P < 0.05) and high-density lipoprotein (+10.6 mg/dL, P < 0.0001) cholesterol 1 year post-LAGB were also observed. CONCLUSIONS: Data from a US healthcare database show that individuals undergoing LAGB have significant weight loss and reductions in estimated 10- to 30-year CVD risk within 1 year post-LAGB.