Agreement of screening tools with established questionnaires used in psychological assessment of bariatric patients

Abstract

Background: Depression and binge eating contributes to less weight loss after bariatric surgery. The lack of standardized assessment of depression and binge eating in bariatric patients makes it hard to identify and provide treatment to relevant patients. This study aimed to enhance the accuracy of identifying binge eating and depression in bariatric patients before surgery. We determined the agreement of brief screening tools for depression, binge eating and quality of life with established questionnaires used in psychological assessment of bariatric patients. Methods: In total, 120 patients completed both screening tools and established questionnaires before surgery during their psychological assessment sessions. Cohen's kappa was conducted to determine whether Patient Health Questionnaire-2 agreed with the Beck Depression Inventory II in identifying depression; and if Patient Health Questionnaire-Binge agreed with the Binge Eating Scale in identifying binge eating. To investigate the degree of agreeableness between the RAND 36-Item Health Survey and Moorehead-Ardelt Quality of Life Questionnaire II on quality of life, Bland Altman analysis was performed. Results: Our results show that agreement between Patient Health Questionnaire-2 and Beck Depression Inventory II (k=0.35) was fair. We found that agreement between Patient Health Questionnaire-Binge and Binge Eating Scale (k=0.41) was moderate. Conclusions: These results indicate that the respective brief instruments' identification of depression and binge eating is comparable to established questionnaires. Our results play a role in offering brief screening tools to be included at different points of assessment, together with established questionnaires and clinical interviews for a more accurate and comprehensive assessment.

Exploring the Utility of the Rorschach Test in Predicting Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery

“…Individuals for whom surgical intervention is indicated usually undergo a comprehensive, multidisciplinary assessment before surgery, as some conditions may pose a higher risk for surgical complications and for poorer surgical outcomes (Doumouras et al, 2020; Eisenberg et al, 2022). Therefore, current guidelines for practitioners recommend that individuals applying for BS should ideally undergo thorough psychological evaluations as part of the treatment process to identify psychological vulnerabilities to poor outcomes, such as the presence of psychiatric symptoms or low ability to understand and adhere to treatment recommendations (Collazo-Clavell et al, 2006; Eisenberg et al, 2022; Lew & Zainal, 2018; Mechanick et al, 2020).…”