Depressive Symptoms in Bariatric Surgery Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Bariatric surgery has been shown to be a safe and effective intervention for patients with comorbid obesity and multiple sclerosis (MS); however, this sub-population may be at heightened risk for pre- and postoperative depressive symptoms.

This current exploratory study aims to describe the prevalence and nature of depressive symptoms in a sample of patients with MS who undergo bariatric surgery.

Medical records were retrospectively reviewed to identify patients who received bariatric surgery and had a diagnosis of MS (n = 31) and a control sample of non-surgical MS patients with severe obesity (n = 828). Longitudinal outcome measures included the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Multiple Sclerosis Performance Scale (MSPS).

There were no significant differences in PHQ-9 total and item scores between groups at baseline. PHQ-9 scores significantly improved at years 1 (p < 0.01) and 2 (p = 0.03) post-bariatric surgery when compared to non-surgical controls. Higher BMI (p = 0.03) and worse overall quality of life (p < 0.01) were associated with worsening of PHQ-9 scores in the bariatric group. When compared to controls, the bariatric group demonstrated improved MSPS scores on a trend level 1 year post-surgery (p = 0.08).

Consistent with the literature on more general bariatric surgery populations, current findings highlight the possible early benefits of bariatric surgery for reducing depressive symptoms in this population when compared to controls. Importantly, results should be viewed as preliminary and additional research is needed to examine bariatric surgery and associations with depressive symptoms and performance in the MS population.