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Health and Quality of Life Outcomes
Published in: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research

Presurgical assessment of bariatric patients with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)—A screening of the prevalence of psychosocial comorbidity

Authors: Patrick H. Alizai, Maren K. Akkerman, Daniel Kaemmer, Florian Ulmer, Christian D. Klink, Sabine Ernst, Klaus Mathiak, Ulf P. Neumann, Volker Perlitz

Published in: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Background

Bariatric surgery has gained increasing relevance due to the dramatic rise in morbid obesity prevalence. A sound body of scientific literature demonstrates positive long-term outcome of bariatric surgery in decreasing mental and physical health morbidity. Still, there is a need for a manageable presurgical screening to assess major mental disorders. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of common psychiatric syndromes in bariatric surgery candidates using a computerized version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ).

Methods

In a prospective cohort study from August 2009 to July 2011 morbidly obese individuals seeking bariatric treatment were evaluated for mental health disorders using the PHQ (computerized German version).

Results

A total of 159 patients were included in this study. The median age of participants was 42 years, the median BMI was 49 kg/m2. The PHQ revealed a prevalence of 84 % for mental health disorders, 50 % of the participants had three or more mental health disorders. A high somatic symptom burden (46 %), depressive syndromes (62 %) and anxiety disorders (29 %) were the most frequent psychiatric syndromes. The median number of psychiatric syndromes was 3 for women and 1 for men (p = 0.007). No correlation between BMI and a single syndrome or the sum of syndromes was observed.

Conclusion

84 % of the patients seeking bariatric treatment were screened positive for at least one mental health disorder. The computerized PHQ with automated reporting appears to be a useful instrument for presurgical assessment of bariatric patients in routine medical settings.
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Metadata
Title
Presurgical assessment of bariatric patients with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)—A screening of the prevalence of psychosocial comorbidity
Authors
Patrick H. Alizai
Maren K. Akkerman
Daniel Kaemmer
Florian Ulmer
Christian D. Klink
Sabine Ernst
Klaus Mathiak
Ulf P. Neumann
Volker Perlitz
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1477-7525
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-015-0278-5

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