Depression, anxiety, and neuroticism in obese patients waiting for bariatric surgery: Differences between patients with and without eating disorders and subthreshold binge eating disorders

Summary Objective This study investigated self-reported levels of depression, anxiety and neuroticism in obese patients waiting for bariatric surgery. The patients who indicated that they might have eating disorders (ED) or subthreshold binge eating disorders (SBED) were compared with those without. Method The design was cross sectional. Obese patients ( n = 160, 117 women, 43 men) returned self-report questionnaires: Eating Disorders in Obesity ( EDO ) indicated eating disorder status; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale ( HADS ) assessed symptoms and caseness of depression and anxiety; and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire ( EPQ-12 ) captured neuroticism. Age, BMI and gender were also recorded. Results Patients with ED ( n = 28) presented significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety and neuroticism as well as more HADS-cases for depression and anxiety than those without ED ( n = 109). Patients with sub-diagnostic binge eating disorders (SBED, n = 23) also reported significantly more depression symptom levels, and number of HADS-cases of depression, than those without ED. In addition, the SBED group showed significantly more neuroticism than patients without ED. No significant differences were found between men and women, for high/low age, or for high/low BMI. Conclusion The data displayed that obese pre-surgery patients with eating disorders have more psychological problems than those without. Patients with SBED were more similar to those with full scale eating disorders in their level of depression and neuroticism than those without ED. Clinically, obese patients with SBED should probably be regarded as those who have full scale ED.