Physical activity levels, anxiety, stress and depression in patients submitted to bariatric surgery

Introduction: obesity has been gaining high numbers around the world, having several impacts on health, including mental health, raising levels of anxiety, stress and depression. Therefore, weight loss strategies are essential for a better mental health of these patients. Among the resources, with great prominence, gastroplasty has been increasing the number of cases, leading to weight loss and being able to contribute to the health of patients. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the levels of stress, anxiety and depression in patients undergoing bariatric surgery. Materials and Methods: this is a descriptive research, carried out via Google Form, including subjects who underwent gastroplasty. Participants were selected in a non-probabilistic way by invitations via social network. To identify symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression, the Anxiety, Depression and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) was applied, based on pre-surgical and current symptoms (after surgery). Results: the sample consisted of 107 patients, with a mean age of 36.5 +/- 7.6 years, most of them women (90 -84.1%). Regarding the practice of physical exercise, we found that before surgery 28.0% of people practiced physical exercise, increasing to 66.4% after surgery. As for mental health (pre and post surgery), we observed a significant reduction in all domains (anxiety, stress and depression) (p=0.001). Conclusions: we suggest that gastroplasty, as a weight loss strategy, can directly contribute to mental health, reducing symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression. over a long period of time to demonstrate such benefits.