Examination of the Beck Depression Inventory-II Factor Structure Among Bariatric Surgery Candidates

Understanding the impact of radical changes in diet and the gut microbiota on brain function and structure: rationale and design of the EMBRACE study

BACKGROUND

Bariatric surgery leads to profound changes in gut microbiota and dietary patterns, both of which may interact to impact gut-brain communication. Though cognitive function improves postsurgery, there is a large variability in outcomes. How bariatric surgery-induced modifications in the gut microbiota and dietary patterns influence the variability in cognitive function is still unclear.

OBJECTIVES

To elucidate the associations between bariatric surgery-induced changes in dietary and gut microbiota patterns with cognition and brain structure.

SETTING

University hospital.

METHODS

A total of 120 adult patients (≥30 years) scheduled to undergo a primary bariatric surgery along with 60 age-, sex-, and body mass index-matched patients on the surgery waitlist will undergo assessments 3-months presurgery and 6- and 12-month postsurgery (or an equivalent time for the waitlist group). Additionally, 60 age-and sex-matched nonbariatric surgery eligible individuals will complete the presurgical assessments only. Evaluations will include sociodemographic and health behavior questionnaires, physiological assessments (anthropometrics, blood-, urine-, and fecal-based measures), neuropsychological cognitive tests, and structural magnetic resonance imaging. Cluster analyses of the dietary and gut microbiota changes will define the various dietary patterns and microbiota profiles, then using repeated measures mixed models, their associations with global cognitive and structural brain alterations will be explored.

RESULTS

The coordinating study site (Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, QC, Canada), provided the primary ethical approval (Research Ethics Board#: MP-32-2022-2412).

CONCLUSIONS

The insights generated from this study can be used to develop individually-targeted neurodegenerative disease prevention strategies, as well as providing critical mechanistic information.

Childhood Maltreatment in Patients Undergoing Bariatric Surgery: Implications for Weight Loss, Depression and Eating Behavior

We aimed to explore the relationships between childhood maltreatment and changes in weight, depressive symptoms and eating behavior post-bariatric surgery (BS). Participants (n = 111, 85% females) were evaluated pre-surgery, and at 6 months (6 M) and 12 months (12 M) post-BS. History of maltreatment was assessed at baseline (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire), and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-II) and eating behavior (Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire) were assessed at all time points. Participants' mean age and median BMI were 45.1 ± 11.7 years and 46.7 (IQR 42.4-51.9) kg/m², respectively. Histories of emotional (EA), physical (PA) and sexual abuse (SA) and emotional (EN) and physical (PN) neglect were reported by 47.7%, 25.2%, 39.6%, 51.4% and 40.5%, respectively, with 78.4% reporting at least one form of maltreatment. Changes in weight and depressive symptoms were not different between patients with vs. without a history of maltreatment. However, those with vs. without SA demonstrated limited changes in emotional eating (EE) at 12 M, while those without showed improvements. Conversely, patients with vs. without EN showed greater improvements in external eating (ExE) at 6 M, but differences were no longer observed by 12 M. Results indicate that histories of SA and EN are associated with changes in eating behaviors post-BS and have implications for assessment, monitoring and potential intervention development.

The Factor Structure and Stability of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) in a Population Undergoing Bariatric Surgery

PURPOSE

Depression is a multifaceted psychiatric condition that has been associated with suboptimal weight loss following bariatric surgery. Previous variations of Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II) subscales been proposed, including those identified within bariatric populations; however, it is unclear whether the BDI-II items contained within these subscales would remain consistent after the procedure considering the physical and lifestyle changes that occur following bariatric surgery.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A two-step analytic approach that comprised of exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) that aimed to identify a stable factor structure using pre- and 6-month post-surgical BDI-II responses. Baseline BDI-II responses of 149 patients (Group 1) were used to identify an initial EFA model. Five BDI-II models underwent CFA using BDI-II responses of a comparable pre-surgical group (Group 2; n = 142), and 6-month post-surgical data from Group 1.

RESULTS

EFA generated a two-factor solution. Of the five CFA models performed, the three-factor model that was initially identified by Hayes (2015) among patients undergoing bariatric surgery demonstrated superior fit across time and between groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the EFA initially identified a two-factor model, CFA determined that a previously defined three-factor model reliably fit both pre- and post-surgical BDI-II responses. This study supports using the Hayes (2015) subscales when monitoring pre- and post-bariatric surgery facets of depression specific to this population. Being able to accurately and reliably monitor depressive symptoms of patients that are undergoing bariatric surgery will allow for the provision and monitoring of targeted interventions aimed at improving their mental and physical health outcomes.

The Relationship Between Percentage Weight Loss and World Health Organization-Five Wellbeing Index (WHO-5) in Patients Having Bariatric Surgery

Purpose

The association between bariatric surgery outcome and depression remains controversial. Many patients with depression are not offered bariatric surgery due to concerns that they may have suboptimal outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between baseline World Health Organization-Five Wellbeing Index (WHO-5) and percentage total weight loss (%TWL) in patients after bariatric surgery.

Materials and Methods

All patients were routinely reviewed by the psychologist and screened with WHO-5. The consultation occurred 3.5 ± 1.6 months before bariatric surgery. Body weight was recorded before and 1 year after surgery. A total of 45 out of 71 (63.3%) patients with complete WHO-5 data were included in the study. Data analysis was carried out with IBM SPSS Statistics (version 27) to determine the correlation between baseline WHO-5 and %TWL in patients having bariatric surgery.

Results

Overall, 11 males and 34 females were involved with mean age of 47.5 ± 11.5 and BMI of 46.2 ± 5.5 kg/m². The %TWL between pre- and 1-year post-surgery was 30.0 ± 8.3% and the WHO-5 Wellbeing Index mean score was 56.5 ± 16.8. We found no correlation between %TWL and the WHO-5 Wellbeing Index (r = 0.032, p = 0.83).

Conclusion

There was no correlation between the baseline WHO-5 Wellbeing Index and %TWL 1-year post-bariatric surgery. Patients with low mood or depression need to be assessed and offered appropriate treatment but should not be excluded from bariatric surgery only based on their mood.

Graphical Abstract

The factor structure of depressive symptoms in patients with obesity enrolled in the RAINBOW clinical trial

BACKGROUND

Examining variability in the presenting symptoms of depression may be particularly important in characterizing depression in patients with comorbid conditions such as obesity. Identifying the underlying constructs of depression in such patients may produce phenotypic information to aid diagnosis and treatment decisions.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the latent factors of symptoms using the depression Symptom Checklist (SCL-20) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), separately, in patients with obesity and elevated depressive symptoms.

METHODS

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on baseline data from 409 patients with obesity and elevated depressive symptoms recruited in primary care. Bootstrap analysis was performed to estimate the precision and potential replicability of identified latent factors.

RESULTS

Participants (70% women, mean age of 51.0 ± 12.1 years) had moderate depression. EFA of the SCL-20 suggested two reliable factors: dysphoric mood (71% of the variance) and anhedonia (15% of the variance). EFA of the PHQ-9 yielded one factor: dysphoric mood (87% of the variance). Bootstrapped results supported the replicability of these results. The top most endorsed symptoms were feeling low energy, overeating and disturbed sleep.

LIMITATIONS

The generalizability of these findings to severe depression may be limited.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with elevated depressive symptoms and obesity present with heterogeneous symptoms. The SCL-20 seems more sensitive than the PHQ-9 for differentiating symptom profiles in this population. Some possible reasons include: 1) differences in number of scale items, and 2) differences in the aspects of depression they tap into; the SCL-20 measures the severity of symptoms, whereas the PHQ-9 measures the frequency of symptoms.

Validity and Clinical Utility of Subtyping by the Beck Depression Inventory in Women Seeking Gastric Bypass Surgery

BACKGROUND

The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) is commonly used in the screening and evaluation process with bariatric surgery candidates despite relatively limited psychometric evidence in this patient group. We examined the validity of the BDI and its clinical utility for subtyping women seeking gastric bypass surgery.

METHODS

One hundred twenty-four women evaluated for gastric bypass surgery were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I/P) and completed a self-report battery of psychosocial measures including the BDI.

RESULTS

Based on the SCID-I/P, 12.9 % (n = 16) met criteria for current mood disorder. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed the BDI had a good area under the curve (0.788) for predicting SCID-I/P mood disorder diagnosis; BDI score of >15 optimized both sensitivity and specificity. Patients diagnosed with SCID-I/P mood disorders had significantly higher levels of eating disorder psychopathology, self-esteem, and shame, than those without mood disorders. Based on a BDI cut-off score of >15, 41.9 % (n = 52) were categorized as high-BDI and 58.1 % (n = 72) as low-BDI. Patients characterized as high-BDI also had significantly higher levels of all associated measures than those with low-BDI; effect sizes for the differences by BDI subtyping were generally 2-3 times greater than those observed when comparing SCID-I/P-based mood versus no mood disorder subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS

In women seeking gastric bypass surgery, the BDI demonstrated limited acceptability efficiency for identifying mood disorders with a cut-point score of >15. When identifying clinical severity, however, subtyping women by BDI scores of >15 may identify a significantly more disturbed subgroup than relying on a SCID-I/P-generated mood disorder diagnosis.

Clinical utility of the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale for the detection of depression among bariatric surgery candidates

BACKGROUND

Clinical assessment of depression is an important part of pre-surgical assessment among individuals with morbid obesity. However, there is no agreed-upon instrument to identify mood psychopathology in this population. We examined the reliability and criterion validity of the clinician-administered Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the utility of a short version for bariatric surgery candidates.

METHODS

The sample was 374 patients with obesity, consecutively recruited from the waiting list of a bariatric surgery clinic of University Hospital, Brazil: women 80%, mean BMI 47 kg/m(2), mean age 43.0 years. The 10-item MADRS was analyzed against the SCID-I. Items that showed small relevance to sample's characteristics and contribution to data variability were removed to develop the short 5-item version of scale. We calculated the sensitivity and specificity of cutoff points of both versions MADRS, and values were plotted as a receiver operating characteristic curve.

RESULTS

For the 10-item MADRS, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.93. When compared against SCID-I, the best cut-off threshold was 13/14, yielding sensitivity of 0.81 and specificity 0.85. Following items were removed: reduced appetite, reduced sleep, concentration difficulties, suicide thought and lassitude. The 5-item version showed an alpha coefficient of 0.94 and a best cut-off threshold of 10/11, yielding sensitivity of 0.81 and specificity 0.87. Similar overall ability to discriminate depression of almost 90% was found for both 10-item and 5-item MADRS.

CONCLUSION

The MADRS is a reliable and valid instrument to assess depressive symptoms among treatment-seeking bariatric patients. Systematic application of the abbreviated version of the MADRS can be recommended for enhancing the clinical detection of depression during perioperative period.