Dec 22 2007
Bariatric Surgery & Mental Health
Generally, bariatric surgery is associated with improved mental health after surgery with symptoms of depression diminishing. This is to be expected as bariatric surgery provides many patients with the tool needed to achieve a long standing ambition to lose weight. For many patients weight loss enables a range of new social and emotional interactions to take place and the new reduced size is certainly more socially acceptable.
However the January 2008 Harvard Mental Health Letter suggests that over a longer period of study incidence of poor mental health increases suggesting that subjects of weight lose surgery may need more long term counselling and emotional support.
Quote:
“The weight loss following surgery generally improves mood, at least initially, but in studies, depression and anxiety scores were reduced significantly one year after surgery, but tended to be higher two and four years later and some research found higher-than-expected rates of suicide among surgery patients.”
Unquote
