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Psychiatric Aspects of Bariatric Surgery

  • Eating Disorders (AS Kaplan, Section Editor)
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Abstract

While most conventional treatments for individuals with severe obesity have a modest and short lived impact bariatric surgery has been consistently shown to result in long-term marked weight loss and significant improvement in medical comorbidities. Empirical data suggest a high prevalence of mental disorders among bariatric surgery candidates. This article reviews specific areas of psychopathology, problems in using psychopharmacological medications post-surgery, body contouring, and recommendations for pre and post-surgery care. Available research indicates a decrease in psychiatric symptoms post-surgery. However, in some patients the improvement appears to erode over time. Therefore, bariatric surgery patients should be monitored not only before surgery but also following surgery and referred for mental health treatment if problems develop.

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Conflict of Interest

Astrid Müller, James E. Mitchell, Cindy Sondag, and Martina de Zwaan declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, D-30625, Hannover, Germany

    Astrid Müller & Martina de Zwaan

  2. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Fargo, ND, USA

    James E. Mitchell & Cindy Sondag

  3. Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, 120 South 8th Street, Fargo, ND, 58107, USA

    James E. Mitchell

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  1. Astrid Müller
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  2. James E. Mitchell
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  3. Cindy Sondag
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  4. Martina de Zwaan
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Correspondence to Astrid Müller.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Eating Disorders

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Müller, A., Mitchell, J.E., Sondag, C. et al. Psychiatric Aspects of Bariatric Surgery. Curr Psychiatry Rep 15, 397 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-013-0397-9

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