Improvement in glycemic control after bariatric surgery beyond weight loss

doi:10.4239/wjd.120010

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Publication Name

World Journal of Diabetes

ISSN

1948-9358

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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA

Retrospective Cohort Study

Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.

World J Diabetes. Jun 15, 2026; 17(6): 120010
Published online Jun 15, 2026. doi: 10.4239/wjd.120010

Improvement in glycemic control after bariatric surgery beyond weight loss

Maria Alejandra Cisneros, Natalia Portilla, Oswaldo Rincon, Catalina Uscategui, Mauricio Alvarez, Isaac Guzman, Diana Parra, Carlos Llanos, Ian Romero

Maria Alejandra Cisneros, Natalia Portilla, Diana Parra, Carlos Llanos, Endocrinology Program, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Bogota 110221, Colombia

Oswaldo Rincon, Mauricio Alvarez, Isaac Guzman, Department of Endocrinology, Hospital Militar Central, Bogota 110221, Colombia

Catalina Uscategui, Department of Epidemiology, Hospital Militar Central, Bogota 110221, Colombia

Ian Romero, Medicine Program, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Bogota 110221, Colombia

Author contributions: Cisneros MA, Portilla N, Rincon O, and Uscategui C design and performed research, drafting and critical revision of the manuscript; Alvarez M, Guzan I, and Parra D contributed to analytic tools; Llanos C and Romero I contributed to interpretaron of results and helped with the writing. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

AI contribution statement: During the writing and revision process, we used tools such as ChatGPT only as support for language editing. These tools helped us improve the English wording, reorganize some paragraphs, assist with translation, and make parts of the text clearer and easier to read, including sections of the response to reviewers. All study-related decisions, data analysis, interpretation of the findings, and final conclusions were carried out entirely by the authors. The scientific content of the manuscript was written, reviewed, and approved by all authors, and no AI tool was used to generate data or make scientific interpretations. In addition, no figures, images, or graphical material generated by AI were included in the manuscript.

Institutional review board statement: The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of the Hospital Militar Central (Act No. 05, March 28, 2025). Additionally, the protocol received institutional approval from the Research Committee (Act No. 06, May 7, 2025) and the Sub-directorate of Teaching and Scientific Investigation under Project Code 2025009.

Informed consent statement: Patient consent was waived by the Institutional Ethics Committee due to the retrospective, observational nature of the study. The research involved the analysis of existing medical records and did not pose any risk to the participants, ensuring the confidentiality and anonymity of all personal data in compliance with institutional and national ethical guidelines.

Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.

STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement- checklist of items.

Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.

Corresponding author: Mauricio Alvarez, Affiliate Associate Professor, Department of Endocrinology, Hospital Militar Central, Tv. 3C No. 49-02, Bogota 110221, Colombia. mauricioalvarez613@gmail.com

Received: February 13, 2026
Revised: March 11, 2026
Accepted: May 13, 2026
Published online: June 15, 2026
Processing time: 119 Days and 9.3 Hours

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Bariatric surgery is an effective intervention for achieving weight reduction and improving metabolic health in patients with obesity. This study evaluated anthropometric, glycemic, and lipid changes after bariatric surgery in a Colombian cohort.

AIM

To investigate the effect of bariatric surgery in improving metabolic health in patients with diabetes and obesity.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study with an analytical approach was conducted in 81 adult patients who underwent bariatric surgery at the Central Military Hospital between 2021 and 2024. Descriptive statistics and paired student’s t-tests or Wilcoxon tests were used to compare pre- and postoperative values.

RESULTS

The cohort included 51% women with a mean age of 41.2 ± 10.5 years. Sleeve gastrectomy was performed in all patients. Mean body weight decreased from 112.2 ± 18.4 kg to 85.0 ± 19.9 kg (P < 0.001), and body mass index from 40.8 ± 5.5 kg/m² to 31.2 ± 6.6 kg/m² (P < 0.001). Fasting glucose declined from 104.3 ± 14.7 mg/dL to 91.0 ± 12.2 mg/dL, and glycated hemoglobin from 6.15% ± 1.31% to 5.50% ± 0.60% (P < 0.001). High-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased from 44.4 ± 13.3 mg/dL to 53.7 ± 19.7 mg/dL (P < 0.001), while low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides decreased significantly (122 ± 38.8 mg/dL to 108 ± 32.1 mg/dL, P = 0.003; and 167.6 ± 75.4 mg/dL to 123.7 ± 51.1 mg/dL, P < 0.001, respectively). A reduction in hypertension stage and medication use for diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension was also observed.

CONCLUSION

In this retrospective cohort, sleeve gastrectomy was associated with significant weight reduction and improvements in glycemic and lipid parameters during early follow-up. These findings are consistent with previous evidence supporting metabolic surgery as an important therapeutic option for patients with obesity and metabolic disease. These findings support bariatric surgery as an effective metabolic treatment for obesity in Latin American populations.

Keywords: Bariatric surgery; Obesity; Glycated hemoglobin; Lipid profile; Metabolic improvement; Sleeve gastrectomy

Core Tip: Obesity is a chronic disease with high prevalence and is associated with multiple metabolic comorbidities, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and arterial hypertension. Bariatric surgery has been established as an effective therapeutic strategy; however, in Colombia, there is limited descriptive information on the clinical and metabolic characteristics of patients undergoing this procedure and their early postoperative follow-up.