PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING OF MORBIDLY OBESE PATIENTS AFTER SURGICAL-TREATMENT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the long-term effects of surgically induced weight loss on the psychological functioning of morbidly obese patient s. DESIGN: Comparison between preoperative and postoperative psychomet ric test results in a cross-sectional study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thr ee psychometric tests were administered to 62 morbidly obese patients before and after surgery. RESULTS: The mean follow-up was 85.9 +/- 48. 1 months. Surgical treatment resulted in a mean weight loss of 45.0 +/ - 21.3 kg (P < 0.0001). The psychometric test results before surgery d emonstrated somatisation, depression, denial of emotional stress, soci al incompetence and an indifferent attitude towards certain aspects of interpersonal behaviour. All psychopathology, except for somatisation , disappeared after surgical treatment. Improvement of psychological f unctioning was determined by weight loss and not influenced by the sur gical procedure. The level of self-esteem before surgery predicted 15. 4% of the outcome variance (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The psychopathology before surgery is almost totally reversed after sustained, surgically induced weight loss. This suggests that the preoperative psychologica l disturbances are the result, rather than the cause, of morbid obesit y.