Predictors of suicidal ideation one-year post-bariatric surgery: Results from the Toronto Bari-Psych Cohort Study

Objective: Previous studies have shown higher rates of death by suicide, suicide attempts, suicidal ideation and non-suicidal self-directed violence (NS-SDV) in bariatric surgery patients. Methods: Data came from the Toronto Bari-Psych Cohort study of adult patients who underwent bariatric surgery between 2010 and 2016. The MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview was used to obtain lifetime psychodiagnostic data. Information about lifetime suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, NS-SDV and hospitalizations related to any of these phenomena was collected during clinical interview. Pre-surgery sociodemographic data, lifetime psychiatric disorders, mental health symptoms, mental health treatment, suicidal ideation and surgical complications were covariates. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between these variables and suicidal ideation one-year post-surgery. Results: Among a total of 284 participants, 4.2% reported a past suicide attempt and 15.1% reported past suicidal ideation. One-year post-surgery, no suicide attempts were reported. In the multivariate regression model, a history of suicidal ideation was the strongest predictor of suicidal ideation one-year post-surgery (p < 0.01), followed by younger age (p = 0.05). Mental health symptoms decreased from pre to post-surgery. Conclusion: One-year post-surgery, a history of suicidal ideation was the strongest predictor of post-surgery suicidal ideation. Results should be interpreted with caution given the short duration of follow-up.