Are There Ethnic Differences in Micronutrient Deficiencies in Preoperative Bariatric Patients? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

The purpose of this systematic review was to determine if in patients presenting for bariatric surgery, patients of different ethnicities, have different micronutrient deficiencies preoperatively. Databases searched were PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE and Cochrane Library. A meta-analysis of prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency (<20ng/ml) was carried out using a random effects model. Twenty-eight articles were included assessing preoperative micronutrient status across different ethnic groups. The most common micronutrient assessed was vitamin D, and the most assessed ethnicity was Caucasian. African Americans had the greatest prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency when compared to other ethnicities with a pooled prevalence and 95% confidence interval of 0.80 [0.74; 0.85]. There was a significant difference in vitamin D insufficiency when compared across ethnicities (p <0.01).