Assessment of alexithymia in obese sample seeking bariatric surgery

Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for severe forms of obesity. Several studies showed that some psychological factors can play an important role on weight loss after bariatric surgery. The role of alexithymia on both obesity condition and surgical weight loss was investigated showing contrasting results. In all studies alexithymia was assessed through TAS-20 which shows the limitations of a self-report test. To overcome these limitations, the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia (TSIA) was developed. The aim of the study is to assess alexithymia levels in obese patients using a multimethod measurement to evaluate both possible differences between the two instruments and their relationship with obesity condition. 54 obese patients (42 men; mean BMI=42,56), undergoing bariatric surgery, were enrolled in a Centre of Excellence in Bariatric Surgery in Latina. The subjects completed: TSIA, TAS-20 and SCL-90R. On-site the weight was detected. Data analysis showed a significant positive association between TAS-20 and TSIA (r=.289, p=.034). However, only TSIA scores was positively related to body weight. Moreover, two multi-variable linear regression were carried out to investigate whether TSIA, TAS-20, age and GSI could significantly predict participants’ body weight. The results showed that only the model with TSIA, Age and GSI was a significant predictor of body weight, and only TSIA score contributed significantly to the model (B= .944, p=.012). The findings showed a different association between body weight and alexithymia according to instrument employed, supporting the importance of a multimethod assessment in this clinical condition.