Effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy in morbidity obese candidates for bariatric surgery with and without binge eating disorder

Aims: To analyze changes in the general and specific psychopathology of morbidly obese bariatric surgery (BS) candidates after cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and assess differences between patients with and without binge eating disorder (BED) and between patients with obesity grades III and IV, studying their influence on weight loss. Methods: 110 consecutive morbidly obese BS candidates [77 females; aged 41 ± 9 yrs; body mass index 49.1 ± 9.0 kg/m 2 ] entered a three-month CBT program (12 twohour sessions) before BS. Participants were assessed with general and specific psychopathology tests pre- and post-CBT. Data were analyzed according to the degree of obesity and presence/absence of BED. Results: At baseline, BED patients were more anxious and depressive with lower self-esteem and quality of life versus non-BED patients (p 10% in 61%, with no intergroup differences. Conclusions: CBT is effective to treat psychological comorbidity in BS candidates, regardless of the presence of BED and degree of obesity.