Personality and psychopathology differences between bariatric surgery candidates, subjects with obesity not seeking surgery management, and healthy subjects

Purpose: To explore personological and psychopathological characteristics in individuals with obesity presenting for bariatric surgery compared with individuals with obesity not seeking bariatric surgery and healthy individuals to help clinician decision for surgical treatment. Methods: 379 participants [160 candidates for bariatric surgery (B) vs 219 not seeking bariatric surgery (NB)] and 304 healthy subjects (HS) were assessed with a battery of well-validated psychometric tests. Results: The B group showed an intermediate personality profile between HS and NB. They also exhibited lower depressive and anxiety scores. Eating and attachment impairment were found lower in the B group with respect to the NB. Conclusions: Candidates for bariatric surgery display advantageous personality features and lower rates in psychopathology compared to other participants with obesity. These features may represent both traits facilitating the search for a bariatric treatment, and the preferred ones selected by the surgeon. Implications for clinicians addressing obese participants towards bariatric surgery and limitations concerning “impression management” are discussed. Level of evidence: Level III, case-control analytic study.