At the same time, the analyses on gastric bypass surgery for type 2 diabetes could be more favorable if they account for improvements in health-related quality-of-life and rely less on cross-sectional data. Dr. Herman said, “I would argue that using cross-sectional data to estimate changes in health-related quality of life as a function of BMI underestimates the improvements on health-related quality-of-life associated with weight loss and will in fact underestimate the cost utility of interventions for obesity treatment,” he said.
Dr. Herman added, “Clearly the evidence to date suggests that metabolic surgery is cost-effective, but I’ll be more assured when I see longer-term follow-up.”
Dr. Herman has no financial relationships to disclose.