Lead researcher Dr. Donald Redelmeier says the findings underscore the need for psychological followup of patients for a prolonged period.HO/The Canadian Press
A new study has found that bariatric surgery patients who don't achieve hoped-for weight loss have an increased risk of suicide in the years following the operation.
Gastric-bypass surgery is highly successful for most people, but about one to two per cent of patients have disappointing results – and that can lead to self-harm. The Ontario study found the risk of attempted suicide rose 54 per cent in a small group of patients when comparing the three years following the operation compared to the three years before. The risk for self-harm was highest for patients 35 or older and among those with a lower income or living in a rural area.
Lead researcher Dr. Donald Redelmeier says the findings underscore the need for psychological followup of patients for a prolonged period – and not just in the months immediately after surgery.
The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences study of almost 9,000 gastric-bypass patients showed 111 patients attempted suicide, most often by intentional drug overdose. The research is published in the journal JAMA Surgery. One limitation of the study, however, is its use of billing data to identify drug overdoses, which might not be an accurate indicator of whether the act was intentional or accidental, the authors acknowledge.
With a file from Reuters