The study was conducted by the Sunnybrook Research Institute and published by JAMA Surgery in October 2015.
Researchers followed 8,800 bariatric patients for three years before surgery and three years after surgery.
1. The researchers found that participants’ risk of receiving emergency care for self-harm behaviors increased by 54 percent.
2. Professor of surgery at New York Medical College and director of minimally invasive surgery at Westchester Medical Center, Ashutosh Kaul, MD, said there are risks associated with bariatric surgery, including bleeding, leaks, pulmonary embolisms, strictures and vitamin deficiencies. However, bariatric surgery often leads to sustained significant weight loss and resolution or marked improvement in obesity-associated diseases like diabetes, hypertension, sleep disturbances and high cholesterol.
3. There are no conclusive reasons for why there’s a link between suicide risk and bariatric surgery, but there are several theories. Donald Redelmeier, MD, co-author of the study and professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, believes the link may lie in the surgery’s failure to meet with a patient’s expectation. People often thing there is nothing else they can do, and they give up hope.
4. Dr. Kaul suggested the link may be due to increased stress and anxiety after surgery which leads to worsening of prior mental health conditions, and he also believes procedures that potentially increase rates of absorption may lead to a more rapid increase in alcohol or other substance levels, resulting in either intoxication of disinhibition. He also mentioned that certain hormone levels are altered after these surgeries and changed levels may lead to depression and suicidal behaviors.
5. Dr. Kaul said follow-up surgery is essential, and cautions it is important for people considering bariatric surgeries to be aware of these studies to better understand the risk, benefits and therapeutic alternatives of various procedures.
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