ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To determine the personality types of women in treatment for obesity and the associations among their personality characteristics, eating behaviour and suicide risk. SUBJECTS: Sixty women in pharmacological treatment for obesity (clinical group: CG) and 60 women post-bariatric gastric bypass surgery (surgical group: SG) were evaluated. METHODS: This was an observational and transversal study conducted in a specialized outpatient unit. Personality types were evaluated through the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test. A semi-structured questionnaire that investigated sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics was applied, along with the Binge Eating Scale (BES) and the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). RESULTS: Among the 16 possible personality types, the ISFJ (Introversion, Sensing, Feeling, Judging) and ESFJ (Extraversion, Sensing, Feeling, Judging) types were more frequent. In the SG, 32% of the participants presented with the ISFJ type, and 18.3% presented with the ESFJ type. In the CG, 33% presented with the ISFJ type and 25% presented with the ESFJ type. There was a higher prevalence of binge eating behaviour in the CG (Cohen's d: - 0.47; p < 0.0001) and a higher tendency to graze in the SG (p = 0.005). Participants with introverted attitudes showed a higher prevalence of severe binging (13.3% vs 3.3%, p = 0.07), suicidal thoughts throughout life (STTL) (69.5% vs 45.1%, p = 0.007), and recent suicidal thoughts (RSTs) (30.4% vs 11.7%, p = 0.01) in comparison to extraverted participants. BMI was associated with a higher chance of STTL (37.96 ± 6.41 kg/m2 with STTL vs 33.92 ± 4.68 kg/m2 without STTL; p = 0.01) in the CG compared to the SG. RSTs were associated with BMI in the SG (34.47 ± 3.86 kg/m2 with RSTs vs 30.61 ± 5.72 kg/m2 without RSTs; p = 0.01). In the multivariable analysis, personality type (ISFJ) was an independent predictor of STTL (OR: 3.6; CI 1.3-10.2; p = 0.01) and Suicidal Behaviour (SB) (OR: 9.7; CI 2.44-38.9; p = 0.001). Conversely, while BMI was an independent factor associated with binge eating, personality type was not. CONCLUSIONS: Women who were in pharmacological treatment for obesity or were post-bariatric surgery present specific types of personality. Introversion was associated with a higher BMI and a higher risk of suicidal thoughts. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.
