Patients with type 2 diabetes who undergo gastric bypass experience better weight-loss outcomes and long-term glycaemic control than those who have sleeve gastrectomy, a study shows.

The findings could help inform clinical decision-making, particularly among those with more advanced diabetes, the US researchers say.

However, leading obesity specialist Professor John Dixon cautions that the favourable outcomes associated with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass need to be weighed against its downsides.

“There are different complication rates with the sleeve gastrectomy and the gastric bypass, with the latter being a more invasive procedure and associated with more readmission to hospital,” says Professor Dixon, from the Iverson Health Innovation Research Institute in Melbourne.