Psychological and health comorbidities before and after bariatric surgery: a longitudinal study

Abstract

Introduction: Morbid obesity has multiple implications for psychological and physical health. Bariatric surgery has been selected as the treatment of choice for this chronic disease, despite the controversial impact of the surgery on psychosocial health. The objective of this study was to describe candidates for bariatric surgery and analyze changes in weight, psychopathology, personality, and health problems and complaints at 6-and 12-month follow-up assessments. Methods: Thirty obese patients (20 women and 10 men) with a mean age of 39.17±8.81 years were evaluated in different dimensions before surgery and 6 and 12 months after the procedure. Results: Six and 12 months after bariatric surgery, patients reported significant weight loss and a significant reduction in the number of health problems and complaints. The rates of self-reported psychopathology were low before surgery, and there were no statistically significant changes over time. The conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness dimensions increased, but neuroticism and openness remained unchanged. All changes had a medium effect size. Conclusions: Our results suggest that patients experience significant health improvements and some positive personality changes after bariatric surgery. Even though these findings underscore the role of bariatric surgery as a relevant treatment for morbid obesity, more in-depth longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate the evolution of patients after the procedure.

Personality characteristics and bariatric surgery outcomes: a systematic review

“…35 The authors observed an increase in conscientiousness and agreeableness, but not in openness to experience. A meta-analysis that investigated normative changes in personality traits found that conscientiousness, extraversion, and emotional stability increase at the start of adulthood.…”

“…One study found that a reduction in markers of inflammatory processes (interleukin-6 and high sensitivity C-reactive protein) mediated the reduction in scores for anxiety and depression. 36 The extraversion factor increased in one of the studies 35 and the social anxiety factor from the DPQ reduced after the surgical procedure. Although one of the studies did not detect this change, it is possible that undergoing the surgery, and especially the weight reduction and improvement in mood symptoms, make people more likely to engage in a greater number of social relationships because they feel more confident and have higher self-esteem.…”

“…35 Among studies that stated the sex of participants, the samples were predominantly female, which is the case in the majority of studies in this area. [42][43][44][45] In addition to the literature stating that women seek health care more than men, it is also important to take into account the World Health Organization data showing that the prevalence of obesity is higher among females than among males.…”

“…One of these 29 assessed changes in the prevalence of PD and the other three 11,35,36 investigated changes in the characteristics of personality assessed by the FFM.…”

“…21,40 With regard to changes in personality traits, specifically the neuroticism factor, one study 35 reported no changes and two studies 11,36 exhibited a significant reduction from the preoperative to postoperative periods (at 12 and 24 months, respectively). High scores for the neuroticism factor are related to emotional instability, susceptibility to anxiety, rage, depression, and impulsive acts.…”