Cohort profile: The Bariatric Experience Long Term (BELONG): a long-term prospective study to understand the psychosocial, environmental, health and behavioural predictors of weight loss and regain in patients who have bariatric surgery
Kristina H Lewis,
Ming Ji,
Karen J Coleman,
Silvia R Paz,
Bhumi B Bhakta,
Brianna Taylor,
Jialuo Liu,
Tae K Yoon,
Mayra Macias,
David E Arterburn,
Cecelia L Crawford,
Adam Drewnowksi,
Marlaine S Figueroa Gray,
Laurel D Hansell,
Darren D Moore,
Sameer B Murali,
Deborah R Young
Affiliations
Kristina H Lewis
6 Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Epidemiology & Prevention, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
Ming Ji
5 College of Nursing, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA
Karen J Coleman
1 Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, California, USA
Silvia R Paz
1 Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, California, USA
Bhumi B Bhakta
1 Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, California, USA
Brianna Taylor
1 Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, California, USA
Jialuo Liu
1 Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, California, USA
Tae K Yoon
1 Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, California, USA
Mayra Macias
1 Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, California, USA
David E Arterburn
2 Health Research Institute, Kaiser Permanente Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Cecelia L Crawford
3 Regional Nursing Research Program, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, California, USA
Adam Drewnowksi
4 Center for Public Health Nutrition, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Marlaine S Figueroa Gray
2 Health Research Institute, Kaiser Permanente Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Laurel D Hansell
2 Health Research Institute, Kaiser Permanente Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Darren D Moore
7 Marriage and Family Therapy Program, The Family Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA
Sameer B Murali
8 Center for Obesity Medicine & Metabolic Performance, Department of Surgery, University of Texas McGovern Medical School, Houston, Texas, USA
Deborah R Young
1 Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, California, USA
Purpose The Bariatric Experience Long Term (BELONG) prospective study cohort was created to address limitations in the literature regarding the relationship between surgical weight loss and psychosocial, health, behaviour and environmental factors. The BELONG cohort is unique because it contains 70% gastric sleeve and 64% patients with non-white race/ethnicity and was developed with strong stakeholder engagement including patients and providers.Participants The BELONG cohort study included 1975 patients preparing to have bariatric surgery who completed a baseline survey in a large integrated health system in Southern California. Patients were primarily women (84%), either black or Hispanic (59%), with a body mass index (BMI) of 45.1±7.4 kg/m2, age 43.3±11.5 years old, and 32% had at least one comorbidity.Findings to date A total of 5552 patients were approached before surgery between February 2016 and May 2017, and 1975 (42%) completed a baseline survey. A total of 1203 (73%) patients completed the year 1 and 1033 (74%) patients completed the year 3 postoperative survey. Of these survey respondents, 1341 at baseline, 999 at year 1, and 951 at year 3 were included in the analyses of all survey and weight outcome data. A total of 803 (60% of eligible patients) had survey data for all time points. Data collected were self-reported constructs to support the proposed theoretical model. Height, weight and BMI were abstracted from the electronic medical record to obtain the main outcomes of the study: weight loss and regain.Future plans We will collect self-reported constructs and obtain height, weight and BMI from the electronic medical record 5 years after bariatric surgery between April 2022 and January 2023. We will also collect patient experiences using focus groups of 8–12 patients each throughout 2022.
