Gastric bypass surgery is associated with an increased risk for non-alcohol substance use disorder, according to a study in Obesity.

Dr Per-Arne Svensson (PhD), from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and colleagues conducted a prospective study enrolling 2010 patients with obesity who underwent bariatric surgery (265 gastric bypass, 1369 vertical banded gastroplasty, and 376 gastric banding) and 2037 matched controls.

Participants with a history of non-alcohol substance use disorder were excluded.

The researchers found that during a median follow-up of about 24 years, non-alcohol substance use disorder incidence rates were 1.6, 0.8, 1.1, and 0.6 per 1000 person-years for gastric bypass, vertical banded gastroplasty, gastric banding, and control individuals, respectively.