Impact of Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy on Physical and Psychological Health in Patients with Obesity: A Prospective Study

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the impact of sleeve gastrectomy on psychological status, sleep quality, and musculoskeletal complaints.Materials and Methods: This prospective study was conducted at a referral hospital in Tehran for 11 months between November 2020 and October 2021. In this study, we included patients of 18-65 years of age with a body mass index (BMI) >40 or >35 kg/m(2) with obesity-related comorbidities. We also recruited an age- and gender-matched control group. Patients in the surgery group underwent sleeve gastrectomy technique, and controls were instructed to follow lifestyle modifications and diets for weight loss. All evaluations were performed at three time-points of baseline, after 3 months, and after 6 months. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DAAS-21), sleep problems (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), and musculoskeletal complaints (Nordic) questionnaires were chosen as the main outcomes of our study. The statistical analysis was performed by IBM SPSS v. 22.0.Results: Seventy-nine patients in the surgery group and 81 controls were evaluated in our study. Evaluations show significant BMI reductions in the surgery group from 39.29 +/- 6.26 at baseline to 26.82 +/- 5.50 kg/m(2) at month 6 postoperative (p < 0.001). Controls also revealed a significant reduction in BMI, which was relatively more rapid in the first 3 months compared with the second 3 months (p < 0.001). Evaluation of levels of depression, anxiety, stress, sleep, and musculoskeletal complaints all showed significant improvement after bariatric surgery (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Sleeve gastrectomy can significantly improve mental health (depression, anxiety, stress), musculoskeletal complaints, and sleep quality in obese patients undergoing surgery.