Obesity, Bariatric Surgery Patients Suffering From Mental Disorders as Well: Study

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In the United States alone, 68.8% of adults aged 20 or older are considered to be overweight or obese, and 35.7% of adults are considered obese. About 6.3% of adults have extreme obesity, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases reveals. The prevalence of obesity in the United States has also risen to 35.7% today from 13.4% in the 1960s. Because of such prevalence, some obesity patients opt for bariatric surgery to help lose weight and improve their overall health.

A new study published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" reveals how a large number of obesity patients who undergo bariatric surgery also have mental health conditions, including depression and binge-eating disorder, CBS News reports.

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, led by general surgery resident Dr. Aaron Dawes analyzed 68 studies published between January 1988 to November 2015 and zeroed in on the relationship between weight loss surgery patients their mental health status.

According to Science World Report, researchers found that almost 23% of those who qualified for bariatric surgery had a mood-related disorder. The most common of which was depression, which afflicted 19% of the patients while 17% suffered from binge-eating disorder.

Researchers also found, however, that bariatric surgery was linked to postoperative decreases in the prevalence of depression and severity of depression. Seven studies showed that there was a 8% to 74% decrease in depression among patients, and in six other studies, there was a 40% to 70% decrease in depressive symptoms.

"Given these rates, it is important for physicians to screen for and treat these conditions in all patients being considered for bariatric surgery," Dr. Aaron Dawes explained. "At the same time, we found no evidence to suggest that patients with these conditions lose less weight after surgery and some evidence that certain conditions, particularly depression, may actually improve after surgery."

In a UCLA press release, researchers explained that bariatric surgery is not a treatment for depression, but instead, is a way for obese patients to improve their health and subsequently improve their mental wellness. They added that previous reviews suggest that factors such as self-esteem, mental image, cognitive function, temperament, support networks, and socioeconomic stability are relevant to the postoperative wellness of a patient.

"Future studies would benefit from including these characteristics as well as having clear eligibility criteria, standardized instruments, regular measurement intervals, and transparency with respect to time-specific follow-up rates," the authors wrote in the study. "By addressing these methodological issues, future work can help to identify the optimal strategy for evaluating patients’ mental health prior to bariatric surgery."