Psychosocial Effects of Bariatric Surgery at Six-Month Follow-up in Adults on the Northern Border of Mexico

Introduction: Overweight and obesity constitute a serious public health problem worldwide. Objective: To assess the effects of bariatric surgery on psychopathology, quality of life, eating behaviors, and attitudes toward food. Method: A pretest-posttest longitudinal correlational quasi-experimental study with 6 months follow-up was performed. Seventy adult participants (X= 36.3, SD= 9.3) with morbid obesity were included. Six instruments were administered in two evaluations, one preoperative and one postoperative. These included the Brief Questionnaire to Measure Disordered Eating Behaviors, the Nighttime Intake Questionnaire, the Eating Attitudes Scale, the Symptom Checklist, the Brief Quality of Life Questionnaire, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Participants' body mass index was also measured. Results: Forty-one participants responded to the post-surgical evaluation. BMI decreased from a mean of 40.6 to 29.9; high-risk eating behaviors decreased from 2.4% to 0%; nighttime eating, from X=5.36 to X=3.87; negative attitudes toward food, from X=52.51 to X=37.74; psychopathology, from X=62.64 to X=26.0; and sleep quality, from X=9.39 to X=4.56. Meanwhile, quality of life increased from M=88.0 to M=98.0, showing statistically significant differences. Conclusion: We found that health variables increased, and disease indicators decreased between baseline and 6 months follow-up of bariatric surgery, with a medium effect size.