Outpatient screening of health status and lifestyle among post-bariatric patients during the Covid-19 pandemic in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Goessler, K. F.; Nicoletti, C. F.; Rezende, D. A. N.; Sieczkowska, S. M.; Esteves, G. P.; Genario, R.; Oliveira-Junior, G. N.; Meireles, K.; Pinto, A. J.; Nakahara-Melo, M.; Cleva, R.; Santo, M. A.; Kirwan, J.; Roschel, H.; Gualano, B.

Background/Objectives: This was an out-of-hospital screening of health status and lifestyle during the Covid-19 pandemic in post-operative bariatric patients from Sao Paulo, Brazil, prevented from face-to-face health care. Subjects/Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 66 patients were remotely (via phone call) and in-person (by home visit) assessed for health status and lifestyle habits. Results: Mean age was 47.4 years. Patients were obese grade I (30.0%), II (22.0%), and III (30.0%), and 94.2% had above reference waist circumference values. Sixty-four percent displayed high blood pressure, whereas 24% showed CRP levels above normal range. Nineteen percent of patients reported irregular use of nutritional supplementation and 6.0% reported binge eating habits. Thirty-three exhibited symptoms of depression. Mild-to-moderate and moderate-to-severe anxiety symptoms were reported by 27.4% and 11.3% of the patients; 4.5% exhibited suicidal ideation and were referred to a specialist for healthcare. Of relevance, inactive patients (59.6%) had poorer global mental and physical health scores as compared to active peers (both p<0.05). Conclusion: This out-of-hospital screening revealed that the absence of face-to-face health care due to the Covid-19 pandemic is associated with suboptimal status of physical and mental health as well as lifestyle inadequacies among patients who have recently undergone bariatric surgery.