INTRODUCTION: The literature remains scarce on the late effects of bariatric surgery on the general health of patients who underwent such procedures at an older age. The present study aimed to evaluate depression and anxiety symptoms, risky alcohol consumption, and binge eating in older adults undergoing bariatric surgery.
METHODS: This study used current data (from medical records and tests) to conduct a cross-sectional study. A total of 74 individuals aged 60 years and older who underwent bariatric surgery after 55 years of age at a specialist center for obesity management located in Brazil were included and evaluated by the Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and Binge Eating Scale. Demographic and clinical data related to the surgical procedure (weight loss) were also collected. The Cochran-Armitage trend test, Pearson’s χ2 test, and a multiple linear regression model were used as needed. A p < 0.05 was considered significant.
RESULTS: The individuals were white (65.70%) and women (78.30%), with a mean age of 65.8 (SD 3.90) years. The mean time elapsed from surgery to evaluation was 75.70 (SD 43.70) months; 10.80% of the participants had moderate to severe depression, 8.10% moderate to severe anxiety, and 5.40% risky or high-risk alcohol consumption. None of the participants had binge eating problems. Weight regain was not associated with depressive symptom severity or risky alcohol consumption, but it was significantly associated (p = 0.034) with few or neither anxiety symptoms. Excess weight loss was not associated with any study variable.
CONCLUSION: The results show a low prevalence of mental symptoms in older adults undergoing bariatric surgery compared to data from the literature on younger adults undergoing the same procedure.
