A Systematic Review: Vitamin D Status and Sleeve Gastrectomy

Abstract

Background: Bariatric patients regularly present with insufficient vitamin D status before and after surgery, which requires substantial supplementation to treat. This review aims to assess the effect of sleeve gastrectomy on vitamin D status and the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation. Methods: This review was conducted in accordance with the Guidelines for Meta-Analyses and Systematic Reviews of Observational Studies. Results: The current guidelines recommend initial vitamin D supplementation of at least 3000 IU/day post-operatively, with no need for follow-up testing after sleeve gastrectomy. Only one study has trialled a dose in line with the recommendations for this patient group. They found that it was effective in improving VitD status. Conclusions: On-going monitoring of vitamin D status is necessary, as the recommended level is not often reached.