2004 Papers - Papa


The Effects of Weight Loss after Gastric Bypass Surgery on C-Reactive Protein Levels
Nicole Papa, D.O., Mathew Chung, M.D., F.A.C.S., Stanley Zagorski, M.D., F.A.C.S. Tripler Army Medical Center

Background: Recent studies have shown a direct correlation between C-reactive protein (CRP) level and obesity. There has also been increasing evidence that elevated CRP levels are a significant risk factor for impending cardiac events and stroke. We evaluated whether CRP levels are altered by gastric bypass surgery.

Methods: CRP levels were obtained at one week pre-operatively and then 3 and 6 months post-operatively. Measurements of weight, height, waist and hip values were measured pre-operatively and at the corresponding 3 and 6 months postoperatively. The body mass index (BMI) and CRP mean levels were compared between at these 3 time periods utilizing the ANOVA test and Tukey post-hoc test. A p<0.05 was considered significant.

Results: Twenty subjects have been studied to date with nineteen female and one male. Normal CRP levels are <0.5mg/dL. There were significant decreases in BMI between pre-op and 3 months with a further significant decrease at 6 months (44.5+/-4.7, 35.7+/-5.1, 31.5+/-4.3, repectively, p<0.05). CRP decreased significantly between pre-op and the 3 month time periods (1.02+/-0.7, 0.49+/-0.09 respectively, p<0.05). There was a tendency for further decrease in CRP from 3 to 6 months, although this did not reach statistical significance (6mos mean 0.39+/-0.10, p=0.19). There was no statistically significant correlation between the change in BMI and CRP levels at any of the time periods.

Conclusion:There were significant and corresponding changes in BMI and CRP levels following gastric bypass surgery and these values were independent. However, there was no significant correlation between the amount of weight lost and the decrease in CRP levels. We plan to continue to pursue the underlying physiological mechanisms that occur after gastric bypass surgery.