A semi-structured interview is associated with bariatric surgery outcomes

Pre-surgical psychological evaluations (PSPE) are required by many insurance companies and used to help identify risk factors that may compromise bariatric post-surgical outcomes. These evaluations, however, are not yet standardized. The present study investigated the utility of a semi-structured assessment, Stanford Integrated Psychosocial Assessment for Transplantation (SIPAT), on post-surgical outcomes across 18 months. A total of 272 adult patients underwent a psychosocial evaluation and received bariatric surgery November 2017 to September 2020 at a Midwestern academic medical center. Average age at pre-surgical evaluation was 45.2 (SD = 10.7) years and 82.3% of patients were female (n = 224). With an a priori α of 0.05, multi-level modeling with weight as the outcome and regression with complications as the outcome were used. Higher SIPAT Patient Readiness, indicating difficulty with adhering to health behaviors and a reduced understanding of bariatric surgery, was associated with elevated patient weight at the 18-month follow-up (𝛽 = 0.129, p = 0.03). Higher SIPAT Social Support, was associated with patient weight at the 18-month follow-up, with reduced support associated with greater weight (𝛽 = 0.254, p = 0.004). Higher SIPAT Social Support also was associated with a greater risk of complications across the 18-month follow-up window (𝛽 = -0.108, p = 0.05). Patients with higher readiness to adhere to behavioral changes, and those reporting an intact social support system, generally weighed less at 18 months. The SIPAT may be considered as part of the standardized pre-surgical assessment, however, further research is required to elucidate its utility.