Bariatric surgery is a life-saving and cost-effective treatment for patients with and diabetes. However, many patients with obesity and diabetes are not candidates for surgery due to comorbidities, such as heart disease. The Diabetes Collaborative Registry (DCR) is a national database that includes data on patients with diabetes who have undergone bariatric surgery. The DCR was used to examine the use of primary bariatric surgery among patients with obesity and diabetes.

The DCR included data on 2,731 patients with and diabetes who underwent bariatric surgery between 2006 and 2011. The mean age of the patients was 47 years, and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 45.2 kg/m2. Seventy-five percent of the patients had type 2 diabetes, and 25% had type 1 diabetes.

The most common type of bariatric surgery was gastric bypass (70%), followed by sleeve gastrectomy (19%), and gastric banding (11%). The mean diabetes duration was 11 years.

At baseline, the mean HbA1c was 8.4%, and the mean fasting plasma glucose (FPG) was 189 mg/dL. After bariatric surgery, the mean HbA1c decreased to 6.8%, and the mean FPG decreased to 140 mg/dL.

The DCR data showed that primary bariatric surgery is a safe and effective treatment for patients with and diabetes. The majority of patients who underwent surgery had a significant improvement in their HbA1c and FPG.