Magliah SF, Alzahrani AM, Sabban MF, Abulaban BA, Turkistani HA, Magliah HF, Jaber TM. Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on waitlisted pre-bariatric surgery patients in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study.
Ann Med Surg (Lond) 2022;
82:104767. [PMID:
36186493 PMCID:
PMC9509532 DOI:
10.1016/j.amsu.2022.104767]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of bariatric surgeries was decreased to ensure patient safety. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of such delays on the psychological status and weight management behaviors of waitlisted pre-bariatric surgery patients in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Materials and methods
A web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted. Results were then evaluated with simple descriptive statistics and inferential analyses through the Chi-square test, one-way ANOVA, and the general linear regression model.
Results
Of 437 patients, 208 successfully completed the survey. Approximately half of the participants reported weight change (46.6%, n = 97), while other weight management behaviors remained unchanged. The mean Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) total score of the respondents was 8.29 ± 6.3, indicating mild depression. Higher PHQ-9 scores were associated with being a student, unhealthy dietary habits, physical inactivity, worsened psychological status, and weight gain. Among these factors, being a student was the strongest predictor of the total PHQ-9 score.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the psychological status of patients with obesity on the bariatric surgery waitlist. Since delays in bariatric surgeries could worsen patients’ psychological status, as substantiated in this study, the provision of virtual care through telemedicine and the development of policies for reintroducing bariatric surgeries for future lockdowns are highly recommended.
The mean PHQ-9 score of our subjects was 8.29 ± 6.3, indicating mild depression.
Higher PHQ-9 scores were linked with poor weight-management behaviors.
Being a student was the strongest predictor of the total PHQ-9 score.
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