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Predictors of Chronic Pain 6 Months and 1 Year After Bariatric Surgery

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Abstract

Background

Obesity and chronic pain (CP) represent serious, interrelated global public health concerns that have a profound impact on individuals and society. Bariatric surgery is increasing in popularity and has been proven safe and efficacious, providing long-term weight loss and improvements in many obesity-related co-morbidities. A decrease in CP is often a motivation for bariatric surgery. The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in CP postoperatively and to examine the relationship between psychosocial measures and pain.

Methods

A total of 155 adult bariatric surgery patients were recruited and completed self-report measures for CP severity and interference, neuropathic pain, anxiety, depression, emotion regulation and perceived social support at three timepoints preoperative and 6 and 12 months postoperative.

Results

Pain significantly decreased between preoperative and postoperative timepoints, and preoperative pain was the most significant predictor of postoperative pain. Preoperative CP was correlated with anxiety (p < 0.05) and depression (p < 0.01) at 6 months postoperatively and perceived social support (p < 0.01) at 1 year postoperatively. However, regression analyses with psychological variables were not significant.

Conclusion

CP decreases after bariatric surgery, but further research with larger sample sizes is needed to establish whether psychosocial characteristics impact this outcome.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bariatric Program, University Health Network, MP4-305, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 2S8, Canada

    Patti Kastanias, Wei Wang & Susan M. Wnuk

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 250 College Street, 8th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5T 1R8, Canada

    Patti Kastanias & Susan M. Wnuk

  3. Women’s College Hospital, 76 Grenville St, Toronto, ON, M5S 1B2, Canada

    Sandra Robinson

  4. Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, 155 College St., Suite 130, Toronto, ON, M5T 1P8, Canada

    Wei Wang & Sandra Robinson

  5. Kingston General Hospital, 76 Stuart St., Kingston, ON, K7L 2V7, Canada

    Karyn Mackenzie

Authors
  1. Patti Kastanias
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  2. Wei Wang
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  4. Karyn Mackenzie
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  5. Susan M. Wnuk
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patti Kastanias.

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Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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The authors declare no competing interest.

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Key Points

• Chronic pain decreased overall after bariatric surgery.

• Preoperative pain was the most significant predictor.

• A larger sample size is needed to establish if psychosocial factors impact pain decrease.

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Kastanias, P., Wang, W., Robinson, S. et al. Predictors of Chronic Pain 6 Months and 1 Year After Bariatric Surgery. OBES SURG 34, 1786–1792 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-024-07201-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-024-07201-9

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