A pilot randomized controlled trial of telephone-based cognitive behavioural therapy for preoperative bariatric surgery patients

Abstract

<div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="S1"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d2240050e172">Background</h5> <p id="P1">Psychosocial interventions can improve eating behaviours and psychosocial functioning in bariatric surgery candidates. However, those that involve face-to-face sessions are problematic for individuals with severe obesity due to mobility issues and practical barriers. </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="S2"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d2240050e177">Objective</h5> <p id="P2">To examine the efficacy of a pre-operative telephone-based cognitive behavioural therapy (Tele-CBT) intervention versus standard pre-operative care for improving eating psychopathology and psychosocial functioning. </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="S3"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d2240050e182">Methods</h5> <p id="P3">Preoperative bariatric surgery patients ( <i>N</i> = 47) were randomly assigned to receive standard preoperative care ( <i>n</i> = 24) or 6 sessions of Tele-CBT ( <i>n</i> = 23). </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="S4"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d2240050e196">Results</h5> <p id="P4">Retention was 74.5% at post-intervention. Intent-to-treat analyses indicated that the Tele-CBT group reported significant improvements on the Binge Eating Scale (BES), <i>t</i> (22) = 2.81, <i>p</i> = .01, Emotional Eating Scale (EES), <i>t</i> (22) = 3.44, <i>p</i> = .002, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), <i>t</i> (22) = 2.71, <i>p</i> = .01, whereas the standard care control group actually reported significant increases on the EES, <i>t</i> (23) = 4.86, <i>p</i> &lt; .001, PHQ-9, <i>t</i> (23) = 2.75, <i>p</i> = .01, and General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), <i>t</i> (23) = 2.93, <i>p</i> = .008 over the same time period. </p> </div><div class="section"> <a class="named-anchor" id="S5"> <!-- named anchor --> </a> <h5 class="section-title" id="d2240050e239">Conclusions</h5> <p id="P5">Tele-CBT holds promise as a brief intervention for improving eating psychopathology and depression in bariatric surgery candidates. </p> </div>