Nationwide Childrens Hospital has been selected as one of only five institutions nationally to join a multi-institution clinical research study to understand the benefits and risks of bariatric surgery in adolescents.
This observational study called Teen-LABS (Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery) is funded by the National Institutes of Health. The goal of this investigation is to identify changes in obesity-related health risks in the morbidly obese adolescent population and to compare outcomes to the more traditional adult population undergoing similar surgical intervention. Additional goals of this research are to determine the potential impact on psychosocial impairments related to severe obesity.
As one of the most comprehensive and well established childhood weight reduction programs in the United States, we are honored to have been chosen to participate in this extremely important NIH-sponsored study, said Marc Michalsky, MD, surgical director of the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition at Nationwide Childrens Hospital who will lead the study at Nationwide Childrens.
Adolescents participating in this clinical research study will visit the Clinical Research Services research facility at Nationwide Childrens four times over a span of two years to complete questionnaires, provide blood and urine samples and to have body measurements recorded.
Clinical Research Services, a one-stop, comprehensive resource for investigators conducting clinical and translational research, will be providing the research support and clinical resources for this study.
Our goal for Clinical Research Services at Nationwide Childrens is to provide every investigator interested in performing clinical or translational research all of the needed support to safely and successfully perform and publish their research, said William E. Smoyer, MD, director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Research at Nationwide Childrens.
Teen-LABS is being conducted in parallel with a study designed to examine similar outcomes in adult patients undergoing bariatric surgical treatment. By comparing features of adolescent and adult bariatric surgery patients, research could help clarify medical and psychological health outcomes of bariatric surgery. This comparison could lead to better decision-making regarding appropriate timing of surgery for young Americans whose health is increasingly threatened by extreme obesity.
Nationwide Childrens Hospital Joins Multi-Center NIH-Sponsored Study to Assess the Risks and Benefits of Bariatric Surgery in Adolescents
May 28, 2008
About Nationwide Children's Hospital
Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-24 list of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of America’s largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs, as well as prioritizing quality and safety, are part of what allows Nationwide Children’s to advance its unique model of care. Nationwide Children’s has a staff of more than 14,000 that provides state-of-the-art wellness, preventive and rehabilitative care and diagnostic treatment during more than 1.7 million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.