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Background Current and prior psychopathology in bariatric surgery candidates is believed to be common. Accurate prevalence estimates, however, are difficult to obtain given that bariatric surgery candidates often wish to appear psychiatrically healthy when they are undergoing psychiatric evaluation prior to being approved for the surgery. Also, structured diagnostic assessments have been utilized infrequently. Methods This report concerns the 199 patients who were enrolled in the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS) study who also participated in the LABS-3 Psychopathology sub-study. All were interviewed independent of the usual preoperative psychosocial evaluation process. Patients were explicitly told that the data would not be shared with the surgical team unless certain high risk behaviors such as suicidality that could lead to adverse peri-operative outcomes were reported. Results The majority of the sample was female (82.9%) and Caucasian (non-white 7.6%, Hispanic 5.0%). The median age was 46.0 years with a median body mass index (BMI) of 44.9 kg/m2; 33.7% had at least one current Axis I disorder and 68.8% at least one lifetime Axis I disorder. Of note, 38.7% had a lifetime history of major depressive disorder, and 33.2% had a lifetime diagnosis of alcohol abuse or dependence, all much higher than population-based prevalence rates obtained for this age group in the National Comorbidity Survey--Replication Study. With respect to binge eating disorder, 13.1% had a lifetime diagnosis, while 10.1% had a current diagnosis. Conclusion Current and lifetime rates of psychopathology are high in bariatric surgery candidates, and lifetime rates of affective disorder and alcohol use disorders are particularly prominent. Binge eating disorder is present in approximately 1 in 10 bariatric surgery candidates.

Objective To describe eating patterns, prevalence of problematic eating behaviors, and determine factors associated with binge eating disorder (BED), prior to bariatric surgery. Method Prior to surgery, 2,266 participants (median age 46 years; 78.6% female; 86.9% white; median body mass index 45.9 kg/m2) of the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery-2 (LABS-2) study completed eating behavior survey items in the self-administered LABS-2 Behavior form. Other measures included the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, the LABS-2 Psychiatric and Emotional Test Survey, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List-12, the Short Form-36 Health Survey and Impact of Weight Quality of Life-Lite Survey. Results The vast majority (92.1%) of participants reported eating dinner regularly, while just over half (54.0%) reported eating breakfast regularly. Half of the participants reported eating at least 4 meals/week at restaurants; two meals/week were fast food. Loss of control eating was reported by 43.4%, night eating syndrome by 17.7%; 15.7% satisfied criteria for binge eating disorder (BED), 2% for bulimia nervosa. Factors that independently increased the odds of BED were being a college graduate, eating more times per day, taking medication for psychiatric or emotional problems, and having symptoms of alcohol use disorder, lower self-esteem and greater depressive symptoms. Discussion Prior to undergoing bariatric surgery a substantial proportion of patients report problematic eating behaviors. Several factors associated with BED were identified, most suggesting other mental health problems, including higher levels of depressive symptomotology. The strengths of this study include the large sample size, the multi-center design and use of standardized assessment practices.

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