Psychological outcome two years after restrictive bariatric surgery

Background: An essential outcome criterion of obesity surgery besides weight loss is the improvement of medical and psychological health status. Both dimensions influence quality of life. This study evaluates depressive symptoms, self-esteem and health-related quality of life 2 years after bariatric surgery. Methods: 149 patients (47 males (32%),102 females (68%), mean age 38.8 +/- 10.3 years) were assessed by standardized questionnaires before and 1 and 2 years after gastric restrictive surgery. Results: Mean BMI pre-surgery was 51.3 +/- 8.4 kg/m(2). BMI decreased significantly to 38.6 +/- 6.8 kg/m(2) at 1 year and to 37.9 +/- 7.4 kg/m(2) at 2 years after surgery. Statistical analyses revealed a significant decrease in depressive symptoms and a significant improvement in self-esteem and the physical dimension of health-related quality of life. Pre-surgery, 40.5% (n = 62) of the patients suffered from depressive symptoms of clinical relevance. These depressive symptoms persisted in 17.7% (n = 27) 1 year and in 16.4% (n = 25) 2 years after surgery. Conclusion: Parallel with a considerable weight loss after bariatric surgery, important aspects of mental health such as depressive symptoms and self-esteem improved significantly. These effects appear 1 year after surgery, but do not seem to change considerably afterwards.