Energy and Micronutrient Intake One Year After Sleeve Gastrectomy Versus Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: A Substudy of the Bypass Equipoise Sleeve Trial

Sleeve Gastrectomy (SG) and Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB) entail risks of vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and guidelines recommend lifelong supplementation. It remains unclear if postoperative intake of micronutrients differs between surgical methods. This exploratory cross-sectional substudy aimed to evaluate whether the reported intake of vitamins and minerals in diet and supplements differs between SG and RYGB one year after surgery. Between April 2017 and May 2023, 285 participants from the randomized controlled multicenter trial “Bypass Equipoise Sleeve Trial” (BEST) were consecutively included at seven metabolic bariatric surgery centers in Sweden. The intake of vitamins and minerals from diet and supplements was self-reported at one-year follow-up and calculated in Dietist Net®. The Goldberg cut-off method was used to exclude under-reporters. One year after surgery, the reported daily energy intake was 1673 kcal and 1651 kcal, after SG and RYGB, respectively. Compared with reference data on Swedish dietary habits from 2010 to 2011, participants reported daily intakes from diet below the daily recommended intake (RI) for a greater number of micronutrients. The reported intake of vitamin C from diet was 53 mg (SG) versus 72 mg (RYGB) (p = 0.001). Following both procedures most participants reported supplement intake consistent with the recommendations. The reported intake from supplements was 580 Retinol equivalents (RE) (SG) versus 656 RE (RYGB) for vitamin A (p = 0.017), and 374 µg (SG) versus 436 µg for folic acid (p = 0.014). Overall, the reported intake of energy and vitamins and minerals from diet and supplements did not differ between SG and RYGB one year after bariatric surgery. Minor differences were observed, with a higher intake of vitamin C from diet, and vitamin A and folic acid from supplements after RYGB. Reported intake of vitamins and minerals from diet and supplements was generally similar and satisfactory one year after SG and RYGB. Reported energy intake was comparable between SG and RYGB one year after bariatric surgery. Most participants reported consistent use of vitamin and mineral supplements one year after bariatric surgery.