Patient seeking bariatric care. Who is he?

Background. The original article deals with the main somatic diseases and psychological problems of patients with morbid obesity seeking bariatric surgery. Objective. Evaluation of the anamnestic, physical, laboratory-instrumental, psychological characteristics of patients seeking bariatric surgical care. Methods. The study was carried out at the premises of the Pavlov University with detailed clinical, laboratory-instrumental and psychological examination, which made it possible to compile a peculiar portrait of a Russian patient with morbid obesity. The study included 44 patients - 20 (45.5%) men and 24 (54.5%) middle-aged women (44,3±12,1 years), who subsequently underwent baritric surgery (longitudinal gastrectomy or gastric bypass). Results. The vast majority of patients (86%) independently find information about bariatric surgery on the Internet or learn about this treatment option from friends, rather than being sent to a bariatric center by doctors of other specialties. Gastroenterological complaints are dominant in patients with morbid obesity, and gastroesophageal reflux disease is the most common gastroenterological pathology. In most patients with morbid obesity, deviations in eating behavior such as bulimic disorder, emotional and impulsive overeating are revealed, and there are also disturbances in the circadian rhythm of food intake. Patients with morbid obesity have personality characteristics, mainly the presence of moderate personal and reactive anxiety, as well as the maximum limitation of the quality of life associated with role limitation due to physical and emotional state. Conclusion. There is no practice of referring patients to specialized surgical centers for the effective treatment of morbid obesity in the Russian Federation. The frequent presence of gastroesophageal reflux disease and sliding hiatal hernia in patients with morbid obesity requires further study of the efficacy and safety of major bariatric surgical procedures, in particular, longitudinal gastrectomy. The presence of personality traits, as well as deviations in eating behavior, can potentially have a negative impact on the long-term results of bariatric surgical interventions, which makes it necessary to study the course of the postoperative period in such patients in more details.

bariatric (metabolic) surgery, obesity, metabolic obesity, deviations in eating behavior, gastroesophageal reflux disease, sliding hernia of the esophagus