According to a study by weight-loss researchers, toxic chemicals absorbed and stored in fat by the human body, such as PCBs and organochlorine pesticides, may be released into the blood during the rapid fat reduction after weight-loss surgery. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health. These findings indicate that further research is needed to understand the health effects of this potential toxic substance exposure.
This study was published online in the Journal of Obesity on June 5438+065438+1October 5. The researchers examined 26 people who underwent bariatric surgery and found evidence of increased levels of toxic substances in the blood after the operation. These substances are stored in fat for a long time, including PCBs, organochlorine pesticides and polybrominated diphenyl ethers similar to PCBs. The study also showed that participants born before 1976 tend to have higher blood drug concentrations than young participants.
The fact that this increasingly popular operation may lead to the release of these compounds into the blood really makes it difficult for us to understand the potential health consequences, said Dr. John Groopman, a senior author of the study and a professor of preventive medicine at Edyth H. Schoenrich. At Bloomberg School.
In the United States, about160,000 people suffer from morbid obesity with a body mass index of 35 kg/m2. Their extremely overweight status makes the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and many cancers relatively high. For nearly 30 years, the National Institutes of Health of the United States has been advising obese patients and people with serious obesity-related diseases to undergo bariatric surgery, which is called bariatric surgery-including gastric anastomosis and gastric bypass surgery-and now there are 200,000 bariatric operations every year, targeting people with a body mass index of over 40.
Although it is known that bariatric surgery has potential adverse side effects, including micronutrient deficiency, the release of environmental toxic substances from fat storage is not the content of previous research. Recently, however, Grupman and other researchers at Bloomberg College and Johns Hopkins Medical College realized that as these operations become more and more common, and because they involve rapid fat reduction, they may release toxic substances such as PCBs into patients' blood.
A large number of environmental poisons, including carcinogenic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), are oily and lipophilic compounds, which are easily absorbed and remain indefinitely in fat molecules stored in fat cells. Generally, they are considered as persistent organic pollutants because they do not decompose rapidly in animals, plants, soil or water.
Researchers recruited 27 morbidly obese patients who planned to undergo surgery at Johns Hopkins Weight Loss Surgery Center. Among them, 26 patients underwent surgery and were included in the analysis. Each patient was followed up for 4 times during the operation and within 6 months, and blood samples were collected. With the assistance of experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the blood levels of 465,438+0 Persistent organicpollutants, including 24 polychlorinated biphenyls and 5 organochlorine pesticides, were mainly studied. The researchers also divided patients into two categories: those born before 17 and those born after 9. People born before the mid-1970s are usually more susceptible to the Persistent organicpollutants virus. 1979 and 1973, the United States banned the production of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides DDT.
The results showed that the serum levels of most PCBs and organochlorine pesticides were about 5 times higher than those of patients born after 1976. During the 6-month weight loss period after 1976, patients lost an average of 23% of their initial weight, or 30 kilograms per person. The serum levels of Persistent organicpollutants stored in fat increased in both groups. For example, in elderly patients, the serum level of most PCBs will increase by 15% to 25% for every weight loss of 10 kg. The baseline serum levels of most Persistent organicpollutants (POPs) in elderly patients are high at the beginning, which suggests that these compounds have high fat storage capacity, so the serum levels of POPs per unit weight loss are often high, especially PCBs.
The researchers pointed out that more extensive research is needed to verify the results of this small sample study. The researchers said that further research can also determine whether the toxic dose involved has an impact on biology, especially for sensitive fat-rich organs, such as liver and brain, which are mainly around one billionth of a gram. Serum lipids per gram.
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