The effect of body satisfaction on female sexual life after bariatric surgery: a follow-up study

The original article was published on October 22, 2022. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/acmj/article/1164283

Erratum Note

In the original article, the study period in the Materials and Methods section was incorrectly reported by the authors as 2020–2021. At the request of the authors, the study period has been corrected to 2021–2022 to reflect the accurate patient recruitment/data collection period. This correction does not affect the content or conclusions of the article. The authors apologize for this oversight.

Abstract

Aim: Discomfort with body shape is common among individuals with obesity and has effects on their sexual life. We aimed to investigate the effects of bariatric surgery on the body satisfaction and sexual life of women in this study. Material and Method: The study consisted of 63 female patients who were aged between 20 and 55. Pre-operative psychiatric evaluations of the candidates were conducted and Hamilton Anxiety Scale , Hamilton Depression Scale, Arizona Sexual Experiences Questionnaire and Body Shape Questionnaire were used. Psychiatric evaluations of the patients were re-evaluated in the first year after surgery. Results: The mean age was 35.4±8.6 years. While 87.3% of the participants had moderate-severe anxiety about the appearance of their bodies before the operation, 57.1% described problems in their sexual life. After the operation, 63.5% of the participants stated that they did not have any concerns about their body appearance, and 73% stated that they did not have any problems in their sexual life. The BSQ-34 scale score was found to be higher in those with an Arizona score of 11 and above before the operation (p=0.045; p<0.05). The results of the correlation analysis indicated that a positive (r=0.257) correlation was found between the pre-operative ASEX score and the BSQ34 scale score (p<0.05). The positive correlation between ASEX and BSQ34 scale score was also observed after the operation (p<0.05). Conclusion: Our study showed that body dissatisfaction caused by obesity negatively affected sexual life and that increased satisfaction after bariatric surgery made positive contributions to sexual life.

Keywords

• Sexual life
• body satisfaction
• bariatric surgery

References

1. Penno A. Bariatric surgery: a choice to improve the quality of life. Revista de Enfermagem UFPE on line. 2012; 6: 4
2. Rankin J, Matthews L, Cobley S, et al. Psychological consequences of childhood obesity: psychiatric comorbidity and prevention. Adolesc Health Med Ther 2016; 7: 125
3. Mora M, Aranda GB, de Hollanda A, Flores L, Puig-Domingo M, Vidal J. Weight loss is a major contributor to improved sexual function after bariatric surgery. Surg Endosc 2013; 27: 3197-204.
4. Sarwer DB, Spitzer JC, Wadden TA, et al. Changes in sexual functioning and sex hormone levels in women following bariatric surgery. JAMA Surg 2014; 149: 26-33
5. Ben Thabet J, Sallemi R, Bouali M, et al. Obesity, body image and sexual life: a comparative study of 40 cases. Eur Psychiatr 2013; 28: 1.
6. Steffen KJ, King WC, White GE, et al. Changes in Sexual Functioning in Women and Men in the 5 Years After Bariatric Surgery. JAMA Surg 2019; 154: 487-98.
7. Kinzl JF, Trefalt E, Fiala M, Hotter A, Biebl W, Aigner F. Partnership, sexuality, and sexual disorders in morbidly obese women: consequences of weight loss after gastric banding. Obes Surg 2001; 11: 455-8
8. Marihart CL, Brunt AR, Geraci AA. Older adults fighting obesity with bariatric surgery: Benefits, side effects, and outcomes. SAGE Open Med 2014; 2: 2050312114530917

9. Buchwald H, Avidor Y, Braunwald E, et al. Bariatric surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA 2004; 292: 1724-37.
10. Efthymiou V, Hyphantis T, Karaivazoglou K, et al. The effect of bariatric surgery on patient HRQOL and sexual health during a 1-year postoperative period. Obes Surg 2015; 25: 310-8.
11. Calderón B, Galdón A, Calañas A, et al. Effects of bariatric surgery on male obesity-associated secondary hypogonadism: comparison of laparoscopic gastric bypass with restrictive procedures. Obes Surg 2014; 24: 1686-92.
12. Assimakopoulos K, Karaivazoglou K, Panayiotopoulos S, Hyphantis T, Iconomou G, Kalfarentzos F. Bariatric surgery is associated with reduced depressive symptoms and better sexual function in obese female patients: a one-year follow-up study. Obes Surg 2011; 21: 362-6.
13. Aygin D AK. Does bariatric surgery affect sexuality? A systematic review. J Contemp Med. 2017; 7: 284-97.
14. Dallal RM, Chernoff A, O’Leary MP, Smith JA, Braverman JD, Quebbemann BB. Sexual dysfunction is common in the morbidly obese male and improves after gastric bypass surgery. J Am Coll Surg 2008; 207: 859-64.
15. Hamilton M. The Hamilton rating scale for depression. In: Assessment of depression: 143-52. Springer, 1986.
16. Akdemir A, Orsel S, Dag I, Turkcapar H, Iscan N, Ozbay H. Hamilton depresyon derecelendirme ölçeği (HDDÖ)’nin geçerliligi-güvenilirliği ve klinikte kullanımı. Psikiyatri Psikoloji Psikofarmakoloji Derg 1996; 4: 251-9.
17. Hamilton M. The assessment of anxiety states by rating. British J Med Psychol 1959; 32: 50-5.
18. Yazici M, Demir B, Tanriverdi Taskintuna N, Karaağaoğlu E, Yolaç P. Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale: Interrater reliability and validity study. Türk Psikiyatri Derg 1998; 9: 114-7.
19. Soykan A. The reliability and validity of Arizona sexual experiences scale in Turkish ESRD patients undergoing hemodialysis. Int J Impotence Res 2004; 16: 531-4.
20. Cooper PJ, Taylor MJ, Cooper Z, Fairbum CG. The development and validation of the body shape questionnaire. Int J Eat Disord 1987; 6: 485-94.
21. Akdemir A, Inandi T, Akbas D, Karaoglan Kahilogullari A, Eren M, Canpolat BI. Validity and reliability of a Turkish version of the body shape questionnaire among female high school students: preliminary examination. Eur Eat Disord Rev 2012; 20: e114-5.
22. Ata A, Vural A, Keskin F. Body perception and obesity. Ankara Med J 2014; 14: 3.
23. Mond J, van den Berg P, Boutelle K, Hannan P, Neumark-Sztainer D. Obesity, body dissatisfaction, and emotional well-being in early and late adolescence: findings from the project EAT study. J Adolesc Health 2011; 48: 373-8.
24. Gaudrat B, Andrieux S, Florent V, Rousseau A. Psychological characteristics of patients seeking bariatric treatment versus those seeking medical treatment for obesity: is bariatric surgery a last best hope? Eat Weight Disord 2021; 26: 949-61.
25. Camps MA, Zervos E, Goode S, Rosemurgy AS. Impact of Bariatric Surgery on Body Image Perception and Sexuality in Morbidly Obese Patients and their Partners. Obes Surg 1996; 6: 356-60.
26. Mento C, Silvestri MC, Muscatello MRA, et al. The role of body image in obese identity changes post bariatric surgery. Eat Weight Disord 2021: 1-10.
27. Assimakopoulos K, Panayiotopoulos S, Iconomou G, et al. Assessing sexual function in obese women preparing for bariatric surgery. Obes Surg 2006; 16: 1087-91.
28. Çaynak S, Boyacıoğlu NE, Temel M. Body perception and sexuality of bariatric surgery patients. PerspectPsychiatr Care 2021; 57: 1266-72.
29. Mariano ML, Paula MA, Bassi DG, Paula PR. Bariatric surgery: impact on sexuality of the obese person. Rev Col Bras Cir 2014; 41: 412-20.
30. Hrabosky JI, Masheb RM, White MA, Rothschild BS, Burke-Martindale CH, Grilo CM. A prospective study of body dissatisfaction and concerns in extremely obese gastric bypass patients: 6- and 12-month postoperative outcomes. Obes Surg 2006; 16: 1615-21.
31. Ivezaj V, Grilo CM. The complexity of body image following bariatric surgery: a systematic review of the literature. Obes Rev 2018; 19: 1116-40.
32. Bocchieri LE, Meana M, Fisher BL. A review of psychosocial outcomes of surgery for morbid obesity. J Psychosom Res 2002; 52: 155-65.
33. Wee CC, Jones DB, Davis RB, Bourland AC, Hamel MB. Understanding patients’ value of weight loss and expectations for bariatric surgery. Obes Surg 2006; 16: 496-500.
34. Munoz D, Chen EY, Fischer S, et al. Changes in desired body shape after bariatric surgery. Eat Disord 2010; 18: 347-54.
35. Gaudrat B, Florent V, Andrieux S, Rousseau A. “I want to lose weight and it has to be fair”: predictors of satisfaction after bariatric surgery. Obes Surg 2021; 31: 763-72.
36. Hult M, Bonn SE, Brandt L, Wirén M, Lagerros YT. Women’s Satisfaction with and Reasons to Seek Bariatric Surgery-a Prospective Study in Sweden with 1-Year Follow-up. Obes Surg 2019; 29: 2059-70.