Comparing the Prevalence of Bipolar Disorders in Bariatric Surgery Candidates with a Control Group: A Cross-Sectional Study

Obesity can affect physical and mental health, as well as quality of life. It is necessary to pay attention to it and its treatment methods. One of the current treatments for morbid obesity is bariatric surgery. Since obesity affects the mental health of people and the mental health of people affects the development of obesity and the consequences and progress of its treatment, the purpose of this article is to investigate the prevalence of mood disorders in applicants for bariatric surgery. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 250 obese patients who were candidates for bariatric surgery and 100 of their normal weight relatives. Questionnaires BSDS, MDQ, and demographic questionnaire were used, and those who showed signs of bipolar disorder were further evaluated through SCID-5. Regarding gender, 24.4% of the total number of obese patients studied were male and 75.6% were female. Twenty-two percent of obese patients suffered from bipolar disorder. Among people with bipolar spectrum disorders, 21.8% had bipolar disorder I, 9.1% had bipolar disorder II, 50.9% had bipolar disorder NOS, and 18.8% had cyclothymia. In the control group, 11 patients (11%) had bipolar disorder, non-obese individuals had significantly lower values compared to obese individuals (p = 0.001), 4 patients (4%) had bipolar disorder type II, and 7 (7%) had bipolar disorder NOS. The prevalence of bipolar spectrum disorders was almost twice that of the control group, indicating the importance of screening for these disorders in patients with obesity.