Emergence of New Onset substance use disorders among post-weight loss surgery patients

A comprehensive substance abuse treatment facility began observing increased admissions who reported histories of weight loss surgery (WLS). Emerging evidence suggests that roughly half of post-WLS patients in substance abuse treatment developed their substance use disorder (SUD) after surgery. The present study examined differences between SUD patients who developed New Onset SUD after surgery and those with a reported SUD onset before WLS (SUD Hx+group). Participants completed a questionnaire and participated in a semistructured interview. Data were also obtained from participants' electronic medical records. Of the total treatment sample (n = 4658), 2.8% reported a history of WLS. Post-WLS patients were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Among post-WLS patients who were interviewed (n = 56), 60% were classified as New Onset SUD, while only 40% were SUD Hx+. SUD Hx+ cases reported using significantly more types of substances than New Onset cases and were more likely to report pre-surgical binge eating disorder (BED). Post-WLS patients are overrepresented in substance abuse treatment and are disproportionally diagnosed AUDs. Post-WLS patients may be at elevated risk for development of New Onset SUD at a time in life (middle age) when SUD onset is relatively uncommon.