Long-term chronic joint pain after sleeve gastrectomy and its influence on clinical and psychological outcomes

Bariatric surgery (BS) is effective in improving chronic joint pain (CJP). However, the long-term effects on this comorbidity are poorly understood.To determine the prevalence of CJP in a sample of patients who had undergone BS with a minimum follow-up of 18 months. To determine whether or not there was any relationship between CJP and clinical or psychological outcomes after BS.Cross-sectional study. The Lattinen index (LI) was used to evaluate CJP, using the cut-off point of 10 to define significant CJP (SCJP).Of the 110 subjects assessed, 31.2% (35/110) had SCJP. The patients with SCJP were older (57.4±13 vs 47.8±11.6 years; p0.0001) and more time had elapsed since their BS (105.6±54.3 vs 78.5±39 months; p=0.023). The last BMI was higher in subjects with SCJP (35±5 vs 33.3±6.9kg/mSCJP is highly prevalent in patients who have had BS once they reach the weight plateau phase. There is an association between having SCJP and worse psychological and functional status, with potential detrimental metabolic effects.