Depression Before and After Bariatric Surgery in Low-Income Patients: the Utility of the Beck Depression Inventory.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of psychological disorders in bariatric surgery candidates is well established, where anxiety and depression are commonly observed. Depression prevalence and evolution after gastric bypass, and its impact on weight loss, have been less explored, especially among low-income patients.

METHODS: A retrospective study with low-income patients undergoing bariatric surgery from 2015 to 2016. A comparative analysis of preoperative depression (the Beck Depression Inventory II) was performed and compared at 6 and 12 months. A demographic and weight loss analysis was also performed.

RESULTS: Seventy-three patients were included. Female sex comprised 76.7% of cases, and baseline depression was present in 45.2%, being severe in 2.7%. The analysis at 6 months showed Beck's score improvement (12.3 baseline vs. 4.2 points at 6 months, p = 0.006), as well as for individual items (excepting irritability). At 12 months, the mean score was 5 points, without difference vs. 6 months. At 6 and 12 months, depression (any degree) was present in 9.6 and 8.6%, corresponding to percentage change rates of - 65.8 and - 59.3%. Only one patient (2.7%) presented severe depression. Depression status before surgery had no influence in weight loss amount at 12 months.

CONCLUSION: Almost half of bariatric surgery candidates have some degree of depression that improves dramatically soon after bariatric surgery. Such change continues stable during the first year. Improvement was independent of gender, and depression has no influence on weight loss. In low-income bariatric patients, depression is lower than reports from developed countries, but similar improvement has been observed.