Cognitive function and quality of life in bariatric surgery candidates

Both poor quality of life (QoL) and cognitive impairment are common in persons with severe obesity. Work in other patient populations show that cognitive impairment is associated with poorer QoL, though this possibility has not been examined in bariatric surgery candidates.

We sought to determine the association between cognitive performance and QoL, both total and work related, in a sample of bariatric surgery candidates.

Three sites were used for data collection, including the Neuropsychiatric Research Institute in Fargo, North Dakota, Columbia University in New York, and Cornell University in New York.

Sixty participants from the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery project were assessed at preoperative baseline.

Hierarchical regression analyses showed that poorer cognitive function was independently associated with lower total QoL and that both reported and objectively measured cognitive impairment were associated with poorer work-related QoL.

These preliminary findings suggest that cognitive impairment may contribute to poorer total and work-related QoL in bariatric surgery candidates. Future studies should examine whether interventions to improve cognitive function can improve QoL and other outcomes in this population.