Bariatric surgery stats

Statistical Brief #23 from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) reveals the following interesting information on bariatric surgery in the United States:

From 1998 to 2004, the total number of bariatric surgeries increased nine-fold, from 13,386 to 121,055.

Across all age groups, the fastest growth in bariatric surgeries occurred among adults aged 55 to 64, a twentyfold increase, from 772 surgeries in 1998 to nearly 16,000 surgeries in 2004.

The national inpatient death rate associated with bariatric surgery declined 78.7 percent, from 0.89 percent in 1998 to 0.19 percent in 2004. In 2004, 230 patients died in hospital stays during which bariatric surgery was performed.

An increasing number of adolescents (12–17 years old) are receiving bariatric surgery, an estimated 349 in 2004.

Women accounted for 82.0 percent of all bariatric surgeries in 2004.

Click here to access this statistical brief. Click here to access HCUP's website; CME Providers might want to bookmark it.