SCOTS (SurgiCal Obesity Treatment Study)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
SCOTS (SurgiCal Obesity Treatment Study)
IRAS ID
105954
Contact name
Jennifer Logue
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN47072588
Research summary
Summary of Results
Bariatric surgery is surgery on the stomach and small bowel to help people living with obesity lose weight. Our research study has looked at who is getting bariatric surgery, if they are having problems afterwards, how much weight they lose, and if their medical conditions improve.
A total of 444 people who were attending bariatric surgery services in Scotland, UK agreed to take part and 336 had surgery. 189 of them completed a questionnaire before their surgery and 85 of them after three years, to tell us about how they were feeling physically and mentally. We looked at their computer hospital records to see how long they spent in hospital, any medical problems and changes to diabetes medicines and tests.
One in five people taking part did not have surgery after all; they changed their mind or the hospital teams didn’t think it would be safe or work well. Those that had surgery lost 19% of their body weight and those with type 2 diabetes needed less or no medicine three years later. The effect of physical symptoms on day to day activities improved but mental health did not.
Compared to other countries, the people taking part were older, heavier and sicker. They spent longer in hospital after surgery and were more likely to be readmitted to hospital. How many appointments they had or what type of health professional they saw before or after surgery did not change these results.
We had hoped to have far more people in this study and be able to answer more questions, but not enough people were getting bariatric surgery in Scotland for us to ask them to take part. Further research is needed to find the best ways to care for people living with obesity who would benefit from bariatric surgery.REC name
West of Scotland REC 4
REC reference
13/WS/0005
Date of REC Opinion
7 Feb 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion