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Abstract: Background: Despite increasing evidence about the beneficial effects of bariatric surgery, little is known about physicians'' attitudes toward it as a treatment of type 2 diabetes. Our objective was to investigate physicians'' attitudes about referring patients with type 2 diabetes for bariatric surgery. Methods: Physicians were identified from the Pennsylvania Integrated Clinical and Administrative Research Database and other databases. Physicians at an academic medical center (n = 142) and community-based physicians (n = 197) in the Philadelphia area in specialties likely to treat type 2 diabetes were sent a survey about their perceptions of the safety and efficacy of bariatric surgery as a treatment for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Results: Of the physicians, 93 returned the survey, for a combined response rate of 27.4%. Respondents reported having positive impressions of bariatric surgery as a treatment for obesity and type 2 diabetes (79.6% and 67.4%, respectively). Only 20.8% of respondents indicated that they would be likely to refer their patients with type 2 diabetes with a body mass index of 30–34.9 kg/m2 to a randomized research trial of bariatric surgery. Conclusion: In general, physicians who treat patients with type 2 diabetes had favorable impressions about bariatric surgery as a treatment for obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, only a few were willing to refer their patients with type 2 diabetes and a body mass index of 30–34.9 kg/m2 to randomized research trials of bariatric surgery. This reluctance to refer patients represents an important barrier to the successful completion of studies of the efficacy of bariatric surgery for those with type 2 diabetes and a body mass index <35 kg/m2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Despite increasing awareness within the medical community about the benefits of bariatric surgery for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), little is known about patients' attitudes toward bariatric surgery as a treatment for T2DM. The objective of this study was to investigate the attitudes of individuals with T2DM and a body mass index of 30 to 40 kg/m(2) concerning bariatric surgery for the treatment of T2DM., Methods: Patients identified from the Pennsylvania Integrated Clinical and Administrative Research Database (PICARD) were surveyed about perceptions of the safety profile and efficacy of bariatric surgery as a treatment for obesity and T2DM and their willingness to be randomly assigned to receive a surgical procedure., Results: A total of 130 individuals of 513 (25.3%) responded. Respondents had a median (interquartile range) age of 58.0 (range 51.0-63.0) years and self-reported body mass index of 32.9 (range 30.9-35.2) kg/m(2). Roughly half (66 of 130) were female. Overall, only 20.3% of respondents had positive views of bariatric surgery, with few reporting that it is a safe (14.3%) and effective (28.5%) treatment for T2DM. Less than 20% of respondents were willing to be randomly assigned to undergo a surgical procedure for the treatment of diabetes (16.1%) or obesity (17.5%)., Conclusions: Few obese individuals with T2DM who responded to the survey had positive views about bariatric surgery. Patients' concerns about the procedure's safety profile and efficacy must be addressed to improve the acceptability of bariatric surgery as well as the feasibility of randomized, controlled trials of bariatric surgery for these individuals., (Copyright © 2013 American Society for Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)