Premium
Two‐year trends in psychological outcomes after gastric bypass in adolescents with severe obesity
Author(s) -
Järvholm Kajsa,
Karlsson Jan,
Olbers Torsten,
Peltonen Markku,
Marcus Claude,
Dahlgren Jovanna,
Gronowitz Eva,
Johnsson Per,
Flodmark CarlErik
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1002/oby.21188
Subject(s) - anxiety , medicine , depression (economics) , anger , mental health , obesity , mood , gastric bypass surgery , normative , clinical psychology , psychiatry , weight loss , gastric bypass , philosophy , epistemology , economics , macroeconomics
Objective This study aimed to evaluate changes in mental health over 2 years in adolescents undergoing gastric bypass. Methods Eighty‐eight adolescents (65% girls) aged 13 to 18 years were assessed at baseline and 1 and 2 years after surgery. Generic and obesity‐specific questionnaires were used to evaluate outcomes in mental health, also in relation to age‐ and gender‐specific norms. Results Symptoms of anxiety ( P = 0.001), depression ( P = 0.001), anger ( P = 0.001), and disruptive behavior ( P = 0.022) were significantly reduced at 2 years after surgery, as were obesity‐related problems ( P < 0.001). Self‐esteem ( P < 0.001), self‐concept ( P < 0.001), and overall mood ( P = 0.025) improved significantly. Improvements were mainly observed during the first year after surgery. The second year was characterized by stabilization. Symptoms of anxiety, depression, anger, disruptive behavior, and self‐concept were at normative levels after surgery. However, 19% of the adolescents had depressive symptoms in the clinical range. Conclusions A substantial improvement in mental health in adolescents over the first 2 years after gastric bypass was found. Most adolescents had a level of mental health and self‐concept similar to norms, but a marked subgroup showed substantial depressive symptoms 2 years after surgery.