CHRC researchers' study on the impact of bariatric surgery and exercise on the Systemic Immune Inflammation Index published in Scientific Reports, the 5th most-cited journal in the world.
The study “The impact of bariatric surgery and exercise on systemic immune inflammation index in patients with sarcopenia obesity”, coordinated by Cláudia Mendes, and co-authored by two other CHRC researchers, Armando Raimundo (CHRC director, University of Évora) and Jorge Bravo, was published in Scientific Reports, a journal from the Springer-Nature Group.
The high visibility within the scientific community - Scientific Reports is the 5th most-cited journal in the world, according to the 2023 Journal Citation Reports® Science Edition (Clarivate Analytics, 2024)- could potentially influence clinical practice and future research directions, as well as receive widespread attention in policy documents and the media.
The present study aimed to investigate the association between SII and bariatric surgery in patients with sarcopenic obesity and evaluate the eventual impact of exercise on SII.
The study has high clinical relevance by addressing a significant problem: obesity and its associated inflammatory complications.
The main objective was to investigate the combined effects of bariatric surgery (surgical treatment of obesity) and exercise on the Systemic Immune Inflammation Index (SII) in patients with sarcopenic obesity - a relatively unexplored area. In a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design, patients with sarcopenic obesity that underwent bariatric surgery were allocated either to a structured physical exercise group or to a control group (no exercise). Comprehensive data on inflammation was collected on both groups by using the SII.
In general, the study found that bariatric surgery had a significant impact on reducing SII, and a negative impact on muscle strength and mass (diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia).
Despite no statistically significant differences (plainly based on the reduced size of the sample), the group that exercised had an overall better performance, resulting in a reduction of SII scores when compared to the control group.
The results can act as a prognostic indicator with potential implications on the improvement of patient outcomes, acting as a starting point for further research.
This research should work to elucidate the effects of different interventions and physical exercise on SII in this and other pathologies, like cancer, chronic diseases, senescence, etc. Exploring the effects of combining exercise with other interventions could reveal synergistic effects on SII reduction.
This article is an outcome of the EXPOBAR Project, which aimed to evaluate the effects and impact of physical exercise on the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia following surgical treatment for obesity. The initial results presented as a poster at the SOCIEDADE PORTUGUESA PARA O ESTUDO DA OBESIDADE (SPEO) congress in 2024, won the first prize.
Access the full publication here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89806-3