Abstract
BackgroundBariatric surgery has gained increasing relevance due to the dramatic rise in morbid obesity prevalence. A sound body of scientific literature demonstrates positive long-term outcome of bariatric surgery in decreasing mental and physical health morbidity. Still, there is a need for a manageable presurgical screening to assess major mental disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of common psychiatric syndromes in bariatric surgery candidates using a computerized version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ).MethodsIn a prospective cohort study from August 2009 to July 2011 morbidly obese individuals seeking bariatric treatment were evaluated for mental health disorders using the PHQ (computerized German version).ResultsA total of 159 patients were included in this study. The median age of participants was 42 years, the median BMI was 49 kg/m2. The PHQ revealed a prevalence of 84 % for mental health disorders, 50 % of the participants had three or more mental health disorders. A high somatic symptom burden (46 %), depressive syndromes (62 %) and anxiety disorders (29 %) were the most frequent psychiatric syndromes. The median number of psychiatric syndromes was 3 for women and 1 for men (p = 0.007). No correlation between BMI and a single syndrome or the sum of syndromes was observed.Conclusion84 % of the patients seeking bariatric treatment were screened positive for at least one mental health disorder. The computerized PHQ with automated reporting appears to be a useful instrument for presurgical assessment of bariatric patients in routine medical settings.
Highlights
Bariatric surgery has gained increasing relevance due to the dramatic rise in morbid obesity prevalence
The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of common psychiatric syndromes in patients seeking bariatric surgery using a computerized version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)
We present our results on screening for mental health disorders of morbidly obese individuals seeking bariatric treatment using the PHQ
Summary
Bariatric surgery has gained increasing relevance due to the dramatic rise in morbid obesity prevalence. A sound body of scientific literature demonstrates positive long-term outcome of bariatric surgery in decreasing mental and physical health morbidity. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of common psychiatric syndromes in bariatric surgery candidates using a computerized version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). Obesity is associated with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, sleep apnea syndrome, and various other co-morbidities, which may lead to further morbidity and mortality [2]. Specific sequels associated with treatment and management of morbid obesity account for 5–10 % of healthcare spending in the US [1, 3]. Bariatric surgery yields improvement in obesity-related co-morbidities and improves post-surgical quality of life [6, 8, 9]
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