Disparities in Long-Term Mortality Following Bariatric Surgery Between Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White Patients.

Objective: Limited studies have reported disparities in short-term mortality between race and ethnic groups. Disparities in long-term mortality between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White patients have not been well described. This study compared long-term mortality between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White patients who underwent bariatric surgery from 1979 to 2018. Long-term all-cause, external-caused, and non-external caused mortality between the two groups from 1979 to 2020 were compared.

Methods:  Summary statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and percent were used to present characteristics of patients at baseline. Cox regression was used to identify factors associated with long-term mortality.

Results:  A total of 19,943 surgical patients were included in the analysis, 19% of which were Hispanic. Mean (SD) age at surgery for Hispanic and non-Hispanic White patients were 41(12) and 43(12) years old (p < 0.01), respectively. Hispanic patients had a higher risk of all-cause death than non-Hispanic White patients (14.6% vs. 12.9%, p < 0.01), respectively. The percentage of non-external (11.2% vs. 10.4%) and external causes (3.1% vs. 2.1%) of death was also greater among Hispanics compared to non-Hispanic White patients. Cox regressions showed Hispanic patients had a higher risk of mortality by 39% (all-cause mortality: HR 1.39, p < 0.01), 35% (non-external caused death: HR 1.35, p < 0.01), and 55% (externally caused death: HR 1.55, p < 0.01) than non-Hispanic White patients.

Conclusions:  Study results imply disparities in long-term mortality following bariatric surgery between majority and minority patients exist. However, reasons for apparent disparities in long-term mortality are not well defined, suggesting further research is needed to better understand outcome differences.