Background: The aim was to compare obesity-related cardiovascular (CV) risk factors (classic and emerging) and the estimated CV risk at 10 years (calculated by REGICOR) in obese Mediterranean patients submitted to bariatric surgery and intensive lifestyle intervention at baseline and after 1 year of follow-up.
Methods: Patients submitted to bariatric surgery (n = 108) and standardized program of therapeutic changes in lifestyle (n = 90) were retrospectively included. Clinical history, physical examination, and laboratory analysis were routinely determined before weight loss intervention and at 1 year follow-up.
Results: Seventy-five percent of the surgery patients had a CV risk lower than 5 % and not one patient had a 10-year CV risk higher than 15 %. The percentage of patients with comorbidities (diabetes and sleep apnea syndrome) was higher in the surgery group. Seventeen of the surgery patients had no comorbidities. The improvement in CV risk profile was significant higher in the surgery group. CV risk benefit of both intervention groups was related to baseline higher CV risk, with type 2 diabetes with poor metabolic control and high cholesterol levels being the most important predictors for surgery patients. Neither body mass index nor excess of weight loss was related to CV risk improvement.
Conclusions: Mediterranean patients undergoing a weight loss intervention have a low CV risk. In comparison with lifestyle intervention, surgery induces a better improvement of CV risk. This benefit is related to estimated CV risk, presence of diabetes, and cholesterol levels at baseline. These observations should be taken into account in order to optimize health resources.