The Impact of Telephone-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Mental Health Distress and Disordered Eating Among Bariatric Surgery Patients During COVID-19: Preliminary Results from a Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Patients undergoing bariatric surgery have high rates of psychiatric comorbidity, which may increase their vulnerability to COVID-19-related mental health distress. Exacerbation of mental health distress and disordered eating could have significant negative effects on long-term weight management and quality of life for these patients if untreated. Objective To determine the efficacy of a telephone-based cognitive behavioral therapy (Tele-CBT) intervention in improving depressive, anxiety, and disordered eating symptoms during COVID-19. Methods Participants were recruited as part of a larger randomized controlled trial study (clinicaltrials.gov ID: NCT03315247) between March 2020 and March 2021 and randomized 1:1 to receive Tele-CBT or standard bariatric care. Outcomes of Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Emotional Eating Scale (EES), and Binge Eating Scale (BES) were measured at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 3 months post-intervention. Linear mixed models were used to test the effect of intervention group, time, and group-by-time interaction for each outcome. Results Eighty-one patients were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. Mean (SD) age of participants was 47.68 (9.36) years and 80.2% were female. There were significant group-by-time interactions for all outcomes and significant differences between groups across time. There were significant decreases in mean GAD-7 ( p = 0.001), PHQ-9 ( p < 0.001), EES-Total ( p = 0.001), EES-Anger ( p = 0.003), EES-Anxiety ( p < 0.001), EES-Depression ( p < 0.001), and BES ( p = 0.002) scores for the Tele-CBT group at post-intervention and follow-up when compared to baseline and the control group. Conclusion Tele-CBT is a feasible and effective treatment for improving psychological distress and disordered eating among post-operative bariatric surgery patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Graphical abstract