Cohort studycited by the Tayebat archiveabstract only checked A-BAR-17 standard review
UK: fractures after weight-loss surgery
Risk of fracture after bariatric surgery in the United Kingdom: population based, retrospective cohort study.
Overview
Lalmohamed A et al.. BMJ 2012 · PMID 22867649 · DOI 10.1136/bmj.e5085
No significant increase in fractures in the first 2-3 years.
Does the study support the specific claim? No · Methodological quality: moderate
Plain-language summary
Study explained simply
- What did the researchers want to find out?
Fracture
- How was the study done?
Matched cohort
- How many people, animals or samples were studied?
12,521
- What was actually found?
No increase
- How large was the observed effect?
RR 0.89
- What do the results mean in everyday life?
Short-term reassuring
- What are the study's limitations?
Short follow-up
- What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?
Limits claim
- Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?
European
- What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?
Long-term risk
Scientific in-depth review
1. Full reference
- Authors
- Lalmohamed A, de Vries F, Bazelier MT, Cooper A, van Staa TP, Cooper C, Harvey NC
- Journal
- BMJ
- Year
- 2012
- Identifier
- PMID 22867649 DOI 10.1136/bmj.e5085 · PMC3413006
- Verification
- verified – PubMed E-utilities efetch, 2026-10-25
- Retracted
- no
- Corrections
- none
- Extent checked
- abstract only
- Conflicts of interest and funding
COI: Competing interests: All authors have completed the Unified Competing Interest form at www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf (available on request from the corresponding author) and declare: support from the International Osteoporosis Foundation and SERVIER for the submitted work; AL, FV, MB, and TS are employed by the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology at Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, which has received unrestricted research funding from the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development, Dutch Health Care Insurance Board, Royal Dutch Pharmacists Association, private-publicly funded Top Institute Pharma (www.tipharma.nl, which includes cofunding from universities, government, and industry), EU Innovative Medicines Initiative, EU 7th Framework Program, Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board, Dutch Ministry of Health and industry (including GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer); no financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous 3 years; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work. | Grants: none listed
2. Research question
Fracture risk after bariatric surgery
3. Study design and population
- Study design
- Cohort study – Population-based retrospective matched cohort (UK CPRD)
- Population
UK adults BMI>=30
- Country
UK
- Period
1987-2010
- Sample size
2079 surgery vs 10,442 controls
4. Methods and endpoints
- Exposure / intervention
Bariatric surgery
- Comparator
Matched obese controls
- Endpoints
Any, osteoporotic, non-osteoporotic fracture
5. Actual results
- Results
8.8 vs 8.2 per 1000 person-years; adjusted RR 0.89 (0.60-1.33); non-significant trend after 3-5 years.
- Absolute risks
8.8 vs 8.2 per 1000 PY
- Authors' conclusion
No significant effect on fracture risk in first years; longer-term adverse effect not excluded.
6. Strengths
- Population-based
7. Weaknesses
- Mean follow-up 2.2 years
- Many banding procedures likely
8. Risk of bias
- Orienting tool
- ROBINS-E
- Type of assessment
- simplified assessment (abstract only)
- Full formal assessment
- no
- Overall risk of bias
- some concerns
9. Assessment of the statistical interpretation
10. Relevance to the specific claim
Limits C-BAR-06.
11. Independent contrary findings
12. Transferability to Germany and Europe
European.
13. Overall methodological judgement
Short follow-up; null result.
| Multidimensional assessment | |
|---|---|
| Authenticity of the source | verified |
| Methodological quality | moderate |
| Risk of bias | some concerns |
| Precision of results | low |
| Directness | direct |
| Reproducibility | partly replicated |
| Consistency with the overall evidence | mixed |
| Regional transferability | high |
| Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive) | not applicable |
14. Open questions
15. Linked fact checks
- Bariatric surgery causes measurable hip and spine bone loss (and fracture risk). – Studies contradicting or limiting the claim
Use by the Tayebat archive
Note: according to the archive, the studies were compiled by the archive operators. Whether Dr. Elawady himself cited this study is not established.
- What the archive says about the study
Listed in the archive bibliography only; the archive gives no specific interpretation.
- A. What was actually studied?
Fracture risk
- B. What did the authors find?
No significant increase at 2.2 years
- C. What conclusions do the authors themselves draw?
Reassuring short-term
- D. What does the archive derive from it?
Listed under bone harm.
- E. Is this derivation scientifically justified?
The study does not support increased fracture risk in the short term; it limits the archive's bone claim.
- Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive)
- not applicable