[Understanding depressive symptoms after bariatric surgery: the role of weight, eating and body image]. / Compreender a sintomatologia depressiva após a cirurgia bariátrica: o papel do peso, da alimentação e da imagem corporal.

INTRODUCTION: Depressive symptoms have been reported as prevalent after bariatric surgery. This study aims to analyze the role of weight, eating behaviors and body image in depressive symptomatology in bariatric surgery patients assessed post-operatively. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study including 52 bariatric surgery patients assessed post-operatively with a follow-up time ranging from 22 to 132 months. Psychological assessment included a clinical interview (Eating Disorder Examination) to assess eating disorders psychopathology, and three self-report measures: Outcome Questionnaire 45--general distress; Beck Depression Inventory--depressive symptoms; and Body Shape Questionnaire--body image. RESULTS: Our data show that depressive symptoms after surgery are associated with loss of control over eating, increased concerns with body image, and body mass index regain. Multiple linear regressions was tested including these variables and showed that body mass index regain after surgery, loss of control over eating and concerns with body image significantly explained 50% of the variance of post-operative depressive symptoms, being the concern with body image the most significant variable: greater dissatisfaction with body image was associated with more depressive symptoms. DISCUSSION: The results of this study showed that a subgroup of patients presents a significant weight gain after bariatric surgery, which is associated with episodes of loss of control over eating, concerns with body image and depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: These results stress the relevance of body image concerns after surgery and the importance of clinically addressing these issues to optimize psychological functioning after bariatric surgery.

Introdução: A sintomatologia depressiva tem-se revelado prevalente após a cirurgia bariátrica. Este estudo teve como objetivo compreender o papel do peso, alimentação e imagem corporal na sintomatologia depressiva após realização da cirurgia bariátrica. Material e Métodos: Segue um design transversal e possui uma amostra pós-cirúrgica de 52 indivíduos, com um tempo de follow-up entre os 22 e os 132 meses. A avaliação foi realizada através de duas entrevistas clínicas semiestruturadas, incluindo a perturbação de comportamento alimentar (Eating Disorder Examination), e de três instrumentos de autorrelato: Outcome Questionnaire 45 - comprometimento psicológico geral, Beck Depression Inventory - sintomatologia depressiva e Body Shape Questionnaire - imagem corporal. Resultados: Os resultados mostram que a sintomatologia depressiva está associada à ingestão alimentar compulsiva, à preocupação com a imagem corporal e à percentagem do índice de massa corporal ganho. Segundo os resultados da análise de regressão linear múltipla que incluiu estas variáveis, a percentagem de índice de massa corporal ganho após cirurgia, a ingestão alimentar compulsiva e a preocupação com a imagem corporal são os factores que explicam 50% da variância da sintomatologia depressiva após a cirurgia, sendo a preocupação com a imagem corporal mais significativo, na medida em que uma maior insatisfação com a imagem corporal está associada a mais sintomas depressivos. Discussão: Os resultados deste estudo mostraram que um subgrupo de doentes apresenta um aumento de peso significativo após a cirurgia bariátrica que está associado a episódios de ingestão alimentar compulsiva, a preocupações com a imagem corporal e a sintomatologia depressiva. Conclusão: Estes resultados enfatizam a importância de considerar estas preocupações com a imagem corporal na avaliação psicológica da pessoa que fez cirurgia bariátrica de modo a otimizar o seu funcionamento psíquico e adesão ao tratamento.

Loss of control eating and weight outcomes after bariatric surgery: a study with a Portuguese sample.

The present study aim is to investigate the frequency of loss of control eating (LOC) episodes in three groups with different assessment times: one before, one at short and one at long-term after bariatric surgery; as well as to explore the association of postoperative problematic eating behaviors and weight outcomes and psychological characteristics. This cross-sectional study compared a group of preoperative bariatric surgery patients (n = 176) and two postoperative groups, one at short-term with <2 years follow-up (n = 110), and one at long-term >2 years follow-up (n = 53). Assessments included the EDE diagnostic interview and a set of self-report measures assessing eating disordered symptomatology, depression, and body image. We found the presence of LOC in 26.7 and 16.9 % of the pre-operative and long-term patients, respectively, and in about 11.8% of the short-term patients. One patient (0.9%) reported objective binge eating episodes at short-time, but subjective binge eating episodes were present in about 10% of the patients in all groups. LOC eating was related with the highest BMIs, the least weight loss, most weight regain, and most psychological impairment in the long-term assessments, but not at short-term. Despite the lower frequencies of disordered eating behavior in the short-term group, patients reporting LOC seem to represent a subgroup of individuals with poorest outcomes after surgery and most psychological distress.