Comparing the safety and efficacy of sleeve gastrectomy versus Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in elderly (>60 years) with severe obesity: an umbrella systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Today, bariatric surgeons face the challenge of treating older adults with class III obesity. The indications and outcomes of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) versus sleeve gastrectomy (SG) also constitute a controversy. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus were searched to retrieve systematic reviews/meta-analyses published by 1 March 2022. The selected articles were qualitatively evaluated using A Measurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews (AMSTAR). Results: An umbrella review included six meta-analyses retrieved from the literature. The risk of early-emerging and late-emerging complications decreased by 55% and 41% in the patients underwent SG than in those receiving RYGB, respectively. The chance of the remission of hypertension and obstructive sleep apnoea, respectively increased by 43% and 6%, but type-2 diabetes mellitus decreased by 4% in the patients underwent RYGB than in those receiving SG. RYGB also increased excess weight loss by 15.23% in the patients underwent RYGB than in those receiving SG. Conclusion: Lower levels of mortality and early-emerging and late-emerging complications were observed in the older adults undergoing SG than in those receiving RYGB, which was, however, more efficient in term of weight loss outcomes and recurrence of obesity-related diseases.