Abstract

Background: The effects of Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB) on bone in the long-term remains unclear. We assessed bone metabolism and bone mineral density (BMD) 1 to 5 years after RYGB. Methods: We designed a retrospective cohort study in 26 postmenopausal women (58.0?±?3.9 years old) with RYGB 3.5?±?1.1 years before (body mass index (BMI) 29.5?±?3.8 kg/m 2, presurgery 43. 6?±?5.5 kg/m 2) and 26 nonoperated women (57.5?±?4.7 years old, BMI 29.2?±?4.1 kg/m 2) matched by age and BMI. The main measures were BMD, serum carboxy telopeptide (CTx), total alkaline phosphatases (ALP), parathyroid hormone (PTH), 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), and ghrelin. Results: RYGB group, compared to nonoperated women, had higher CTx (0.71?±?0.21 vs. 0.43?±?0.15 ng/ml; P?<?0.01) and PTH (68.3?±?35 vs. 49.4?±?16 pg/ml; P?=?0.02). There were no differences between RYGB and nonoperated women in: calcium and vitamin D intake (759?±?457 vs. 705?±?460 mg/day; 176?±?160 vs. 111?±?86 UI/day), ghrelin (763?±?336 vs. 621?±?274 pg/ml), ALP (101?±?22 vs. 94?±?25 UI/l), 25OHD (18.8 ?±?7.6 vs. 17.4?±?5.9 ng/ml), lumbar spine BMD (1. 059?±?0.32 vs. 1.071?±?0.207 g/cm 2), or femoral neck BMD (0.892?±?0.109 vs. 0.934?±?1.1 g/cm 2). Conclusions: RYGB is associated to high bone resorption and hyperparathyroidism prevalence in postmenopausal women in the long-term. This occurs independently of the intake of calcium, vitamin D status, or ghrelin and does not seem to affect BMD after RYGB. © 2009 Springer Science + Business Media, LLC.