Psychiatric, psychological and addiction management in obesity surgery: Early identification for better support

Although bariatric surgery results in a significant weight reduction and an improvement in the quality of life in most people who undergo surgery, there are inter-individual differences in terms of postoperative results. Psychological, psychiatric and addictive disorders contribute substantially to these difficulties. Between 20% and 50% of bariatric surgery candidates have a current psychiatric/addictive disorder and approximately 30-75% have a history of a psychiatric/addictive disorder within their lifetime. Surgery is accompanied in the short-term by an improvement in depressive symptoms and binge eating, but these symptoms tend to increase again beyond the 3rd postoperative year. Over the long-term, only the improvement in depression remains durable, whilepostoperative anxiety and disordered eating symptoms do not differ significantly from the preoperative levels. There is a two to four fold increased risk of post-surgical suicide and suicide attempts (from the 1st postoperative year onward), as well as an increased risk of alcohol-abuse (beyond two years after surgery). Psychological support must therefore continue long-term. Several psychotherapeutic and pharmacological treatments have demonstrated their effectiveness in improving the postoperative prognosis of patients with psychological/psychiatric disorders. The early integration of psychological/psychiatric/addiction evaluation and support into multidisciplinary management makes it easier to identify these difficulties and to optimize the postoperative prognosis, both in terms of weight and quality of life. Prior to surgery, patients should be systematically evaluated by a psychologist or psychiatrist in order to identify and to manage disorders that could negatively impact the postoperative prognosis. After surgery, this assessment and support can be carried out in a programmed and systematic way for those patients who were identified preoperatively as the most vulnerable, but support can also be offered during follow-up in the event of specific symptoms (i.e., loss of control over food intake, failure in terms of weight or quality of life, suicidal ideation, loss of control over alcohol use, significant depression or anxiety symptoms).