IDF Announces Position Supporting Surgery to Treat Type 2 Diabetes in Obese Patients

Bariatric surgery should be considered earlier in the treatment of eligible patients to help stem the serious complications that can result from diabetes, according to an International Diabetes Federation (IDF) position statement presented at the second World Congress on Interventional Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes in New York.

The statement was written by 20 leading experts in diabetes and bariatric surgery who have made a series of recommendations on the use of weight-loss surgery as a cost-effective treatment option for severely obese people with type 2 diabetes.

According to the statement there is increasing evidence that the health of obese people with type 2 diabetes, including their glucose control and other obesity-related comorbidities, can benefit substantially from bariatric surgery under certain circumstances.

The IDF's Taskforce on Epidemiology and Prevention of Diabetes convened the expert group with specific goals to do the following:

* develop practical recommendations for clinicians on patient selection and management;

* identify barriers to surgical access;

* suggest health policies that ensure equitable access to surgery; and

* identify priorities for research.

Co-chairperson Professor Sir George Alberti, Senior Research Investigator, Imperial College, London, said, "Bariatric intervention is a health and cost-effective therapy for type 2 diabetes and obesity with an acceptable safety profile. Bariatric surgery for severely obese people with type 2 diabetes should be considered much earlier in management rather than held back as a last resort. It should be incorporated into type 2 diabetes treatment protocols." He also pointed out that the cut-points for action may be lower in Asian populations because of their increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Source: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center