Use of alcohol before and after bariatric surgery.

OBJECTIVE to assess alcohol intake in the bariatric surgery pre and postoperative periods. METHODS Patients were interviewed at Surgery Clinic of the Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - HC/UFPE (Brazil) from July 2011 to March 2012. We analyzed socioeconomic, anthropometric and clinical variables. We used the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT C). RESULTS One hundred nineteen patients were enrolled (mean age: 41.23+11.30 years), with a predominance of the female gender (83.2%), non-Caucasian race (55%), married individuals or in a stable union (65.5%), with a high school education (40.3%)and active in the job market (37%). Weight and body mass index (BMI) were 128.77+25.28 Kg and 49.09+9.26 Kg/m2,respectively in the preoperative period (class II obesity) and 87.19+19.16 Kg and 33.04+6.21 Kg/m2, respectively in the postoperative period (class I obesity) (p<0.001). Hypertension was the most frequent disease in the pre (66.6%) and postoperative (36.5%) periods. The prevalence of alcohol use was 26.6% in the preoperative period, of which 2.2% of high risk, and 35.1% in the postoperative period, of which 1.4% of probable dependence; this difference did not achieve statistical significance (p=0.337). CONCLUSION The prevalence of abusive alcohol intake and/or probable dependence was low in both the pre and postoperative periods, with little evidence of risky consumption among the patients submitted to bariatric surgery.