Course of Depressive Symptoms and Treatment in the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS-2) Study

ObjectiveTo examine changes in depressive symptoms and treatment in the first 3 years following bariatric surgery. MethodsThe longitudinal assessment of bariatric surgery-2 (LABS-2) is an observational cohort study of adults (n=2,458) who underwent a bariatric surgical procedure at 1 of 10 US hospitals between 2006 and 2009. This study includes 2,148 participants who completed the Beck depression inventory (BDI) at baseline andone follow-up visit in years 1-3. ResultsAt baseline, 40.4% self-reported treatment for depression. At least mild depressive symptoms (BDI score10) were reported by 28.3%; moderate (BDI score 19-29) and severe (BDI score 30) symptoms were uncommon (4.2 and 0.5%, respectively). Mild-to-severe depressive symptoms independently increased the odds (OR=1.75; P=0.03) of a major adverse event within 30 days of surgery. Compared with baseline, symptom severity was significantly lower at all follow-up time points (e.g., mild-to-severe symptomatology was 8.9%, 6 months; 8.4%, 1year; 12.2%, 2 years; 15.6%, 3 years; ps<0.001), but increased between 1 and 3 years postoperatively (P<0.01). Change in depressive symptoms was significantly related to change in body mass index (r=0.42; P<0001). ConclusionBariatric surgery has a positive impact on depressive features. However, data suggest some deterioration in improvement after the first postoperative year. LABS-2, #NCT00465829, .