A Canadian study has revealed that individuals who undergo weight loss surgery, or bariatric surgery might experience an increase in risk of self-harming behaviors during the 2 to 3 years following the surgery.
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Researchers studied 8,800 patients in Ontario over a period of three years before and after weight-loss surgery.
Out of that gathering, 111 patients had 158 self-hurt crises amid the subsequent period, the study found. The suicide’s majority endeavors happened in the second and third year after the surgery, the discoveries appeared.
Although a few patients had self-harm emergencies, the risk of these emergencies increased by approximately 50 percent after surgery, they said.
The most common self-harm mechanism was an intentional overdose (73%).
An accompanying editorial noted the identification of patients with an increased risk of such adverse outcomes “remains an elusive goal”.
By comparing the same group of people before and after surgery, the researchers of this new study could use the patients as their controls and managed to eliminate variables like personality differences and genetics. While small, the risk of these emergencies was 54 percent higher after surgery than it was before.
In the three years after they go under the knife, patients who have bariatric surgery to aid in weight loss are more likely than they were before the operation to attempt suicide or end up in the hospital after doing harm to themselves, new research says.
They advocate further investigation into the reasons for self-harm behaviors after bariatric surgery and ways to reduce these risks.
The new study notes suicidal tendencies and attempts were more frequent after bariatric surgery, though it was unclear whether this behaviour was reduced or aggravated by surgery.
“Bariatric surgery in many cases is an extremely successful operation”, said principal researcher Dr. Donald Redelmeier, an internal medicine specialist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.
There could also be increased stress and anxiety after the operation, and the surgery could effect levels of neurohormones, molecules which may predict the likelihood of depression and suicidal behaviours. The surgery may also change how the body breaks down alcohol after surgery, and alcohol may lower the inhibitions that would otherwise prevent people from harming themselves, the researchers speculated in their study.
But Ann Arbor Veterans Administration Healthcare System director of bariatric surgery, Dr. Amir Ghaferi, reminds “Bariatric surgery follow-up is notoriously poor”. With the increase of obesity in the human population now affecting children, the medical community is starting to push for bariatric surgery in children without well understanding the impact of these procedures on the vulnerable and immature psychology of this population. Unfortunately, many patients are not provided with long-term follow ups and monitoring after the surgery is performed.
According to the researchers, about 93 percent of those suicide attempts were done by patients who were diagnosed to have mental health disorder prior to surgery.
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“We don’t really have a good way of screening these people”, Ghaferi said.
