A new scoring system could help predict which patients with diabetes will achieve remission after bariatric surgery, according to a study in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

Researchers developed and validated the DiaRem algorithm using three cohorts of patients with type 2 diabetes who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The model relies on four preoperative variables: insulin use, age, HbA1c concentration, and use of sulfonylureas or other insulin-sensitizing agents.

Fourteen months after surgery, 87% of patients with the lowest DiaRem scores (i.e., those who were young, had low HbA1c concentrations, and were not using insulin, sulfonylureas, or other insulin-sensitizing agents besides metformin) had achieved diabetes remission, while only 5% of those with the highest scores achieved remission.

Commentators write that this research could “challenge present guidelines for provision of weight-loss surgery [for diabetes], which mostly depends on BMI.”

Source: Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology