Pittsburgh -- A University of Pittsburgh study found 6 percent of those undergoing bariatric surgery -- a treatment for severe obesity -- died within five years.

The study, published in the Archives of Surgery, also found the death rate for those with the surgery higher than that of the general population in the cases of heart disease and suicide.

Dr. Bennet I. Omalu, of the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues analyzed data on all bariatric operations performed on Pennsylvania residents between 1995 and 2004. Following 16,683 operations, 440 patients -- less than 3 percent -- died. Almost 20 percent of those deaths were from heart disease.

Of the 45 deaths from traumatic causes, 16 were suicides and l4 were drug overdoses not classified as suicides. National statistics for the general population would predict only two suicide deaths among this number of individuals.

The study authors suggest mortality after bariatric surgery could be reduced by better coordination of follow-up after the surgery, especially control of high risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and smoking.

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