Is alexithymia associated with weight-related self-esteem after metabolic and bariatric surgery: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Metabolic and bariatric surgery has significant positive effects on quality of life. The aim of the present study is to assess whether or not alexithymia is associated with weight-related self-esteem levels which is a concept assessed in quality of life after metabolic bariatric surgery. A cross-sectional study conducted at a university hospital. Before the surgery, patients who had no active psychiatric diagnosis or were not on psychiatric medication filled out the Hamilton anxiety rating scale and Hamilton depression rating scales. Total of 119 patients were revisited between the sixth and twelfth months after surgery and filled out a sociodemographic data form, the Hamilton anxiety rating scale, the Hamilton depression rating scale, the impact of weight on quality-oflife scale – self-esteem subscale (IWQOL-Lite), and the Toronto alexithymia scale. The mean time elapsed after the postoperative evaluation was 8.7 ± 3.1 months. About 29.5% of the patients applying to bariatric surgery were alexithymic. The mean scores on the HAM-D, HAM-A, difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, and externally oriented thinking scales of the patients were significantly higher in alexithymic patients (P = .008; P = .004; P < .001; P < .001; P = .004, respectively). Additionally, the IWQOL-Lite scores of alexithymic individuals were statistically significantly lower than those of the group without alexithymia (P = .004). A weak negative correlation was found between the score of IWQOL-Lite self-esteem and the total Toronto alexithymia scale-20 item score and difficulty describing feelings value (r = −0.185, P = .044; r = −0.209, P = .023, respectively). The present study supported that individuals with high alexithymic characteristics have lower weight-related self-esteem after the surgery, and further studies are needed to elucidate the causal relationship of this condition. Abbreviations: DDF = difficulty describing feelings, DIF = difficulty identifying feelings, EOT = externally oriented thinking, HAMA = Hamilton anxiety rating scale, HAM-D = Hamilton depression rating scale, IWQOL-Lite = impact of weight on quality of life–lite form, SPSS = Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, TAS-20 = Toronto alexithymia scale-20 item.