Suicide attempts increase after bariatric surgery

Editor's Note

Bariatric surgery patients were at a much higher risk of suicide after surgery than before, in this study.

Of 8,815 patients included in the study, 111 had 158 self-harm emergencies during follow-up. Overall, self-harm significantly increased postoperatively (3.63/1,000 patient years) compared with preoperatively (2.33/1,000 patient years).

Self-harm emergencies were higher in those older than 35 years, with a low-income status, and living in rural areas. The most common self-harm mechanism was an intentional overdose.

The findings underscore the need for screening for suicide risk during follow-up, the authors say.

1Evaluative Clinical Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 2Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 3Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 4Department of Surgery, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 5Department of Surgery, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 6Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 7 Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada