Bariatric surgery may be linked to slightly increased suicide risk

"The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology" recently published the latest publication from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The research team stated that compared with people who use other methods to lose weight, people who undergo surgery to achieve weight loss may be associated with a slightly increased risk of suicide.

In the study, the authors analyzed obese people from two registries who had lost weight through bariatric surgery, other treatments, or active lifestyle changes. The analysis results found that data from one of the registries showed that the relative risk of attempting suicide or self-harm was about three times higher among people who underwent surgical weight loss than among people who underwent other weight loss methods; however, the absolute risk of suicide for both surgical and non-surgical groups in both registries was less than 1%.

The authors say the findings reinforce the importance of conducting a mental health assessment before bariatric surgery for obese people, providing them with information about the risk of self-harm associated with surgery, and following up over the long term.

The study was published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology

This article is from ELSEVIER Global Pharmaceutical News