Improved memory function two years after bariatric surgery

Abstract

Objective: Obesity is as an independent risk factor for poor neurocognitive outcomes, including Alzheimer's disease. Bariatric surgery has recently been shown to result in improved memory at 12-weeks postoperatively. However, the long-term effects of bariatric surgery on cognitive function remain unclear.

Design and methods: Eighty-six individuals (63 bariatric surgery patients, 23 obese controls) were recruited from a prospective study examining the neurocognitive effects of bariatric surgery. All participants completed self-report measurements and a computerized cognitive test battery prior to surgery and at 12-week and 24-month follow-up; obese controls completed measures at equivalent time points.

Results: Bariatric surgery patients exhibited high rates of pre-operative cognitive impairments in attention, executive function, memory, and language. Relative to obese controls, repeated measures ANOVA showed improvements in memory from baseline to 12-weeks and 24-months postoperatively (P < 0.05). Regression analyses controlling for baseline factors revealed that a lower BMI at 24-months demonstrated a trend toward significance for improved memory (β = -.30, P = 0.075).

Conclusion: These findings suggest that cognitive benefits of bariatric surgery may extend to 24-months postoperatively. Larger prospective studies with extended follow-up periods are needed to elucidate whether bariatric surgery decreases risk for cognitive decline and possibly the development of dementia.