Organic Pollutant Build-Up in Body Fat and Stomach Tissue Linked to Obesity Levels

Dong Peng

Status: Active, not recruiting

Conditions: Obesity &Amp; Overweight

Treatments: Other: exposure to organic pollutant

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07126743

2025-527-01

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study looks at whether certain environmental chemicals, called organic pollutants, build up in the body fat and stomach tissues of people with obesity who are having weight-loss (bariatric) surgery. These pollutants can come from things like plastics, pesticides, or industrial waste, and may affect health in different ways.

The investigators will measure the amount of these pollutants in tissue samples taken during surgery and see if the levels are different in people with mild, moderate, or severe obesity. By understanding these patterns, the investigators hope to learn more about how environmental factors may influence obesity and related health problems. The findings could help guide future prevention and treatment strategies for patients.

Full description

Obesity is a complex health condition influenced by both lifestyle and environmental factors. Among these factors, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) - such as certain plastic-related chemicals, pesticides, and industrial byproducts - have raised growing concern due to their ability to accumulate in human tissues over time and potentially interfere with metabolism.

This study focuses on patients with obesity who are undergoing bariatric surgery. During surgery, the investigators will collect small samples of adipose (fat) tissue and gastric tissue under sterile conditions. These samples will be analyzed for the presence and concentration of specific organic pollutants using validated laboratory methods. The investigators will compare pollutant accumulation patterns across patients with varying levels of obesity severity, aiming to identify possible associations between pollutant burden and obesity-related clinical characteristics.

The results are expected to provide new insights into the environmental contributions to obesity, beyond diet and physical activity. By clarifying how pollutant accumulation in different tissues relates to obesity severity, the findings could help inform prevention strategies, refine clinical management, and highlight the need for targeted public health policies addressing environmental exposures.

Enrollment: 100 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adults ≥18 years.
• BMI ≥30 kg/m² at screening (measured within 30 days before surgery).
• Scheduled for primary bariatric surgery (e.g., sleeve gastrectomy or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass) for clinical indications.
• Able to provide informed consent.
• Willing to allow intraoperative collection of subcutaneous/visceral adipose tissue and gastric tissue for pollutant analysis.
• Availability of basic preoperative clinical data (demographics, comorbidities, relevant labs).

Exclusion criteria

• Prior bariatric or major upper gastrointestinal surgery that alters stomach/anatomy relevant to sampling.
• Pregnant or breastfeeding at screening or on day of surgery.
• Active malignancy (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers) or ongoing systemic immunosuppressive therapy (e.g., chronic corticosteroids, biologics) within 3 months.
• Severe organ dysfunction: decompensated cirrhosis (Child-Pugh C) or eGFR <30 mL/min/1.73m².
• Acute infection or decompensated chronic illness that would preclude elective surgery per treating team.
• Documented high-level occupational or accidental chemical exposure within 6 months (e.g., pesticide poisoning) likely to bias tissue pollutant measurements.
• Participation in another interventional study expected to affect weight or metabolism within 3 months.
• Inadequate tissue obtainable at surgery for analysis (determined intraoperatively by the investigators).

Trial design

100 participants in 1 patient group

obesity group

Description:

Adult patients diagnosed with obesity (body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m²) who are scheduled to undergo bariatric surgery for clinical indications, such as severe obesity or obesity-related comorbidities (e.g., type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or obstructive sleep apnea). The intervention of interest is the standardized collection of biological tissue samples during bariatric surgery. At the time of surgery, the investigators will obtain small samples of subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue, as well as gastric tissue from the resected portion of the stomach, using sterile techniques. No additional incisions or surgical time beyond the standard bariatric procedure will be required.

Treatment:

Other: exposure to organic pollutant