Background: Morbid obesity decreases the quality of life. The aims of surgical and medical treatment are weight loss, reduction of co-morbidity, and improved quality of life.
Aims: To compare the quality of life between obese patients (BMI: 40 or>35+comorbidity) and healthy volunteers using the GIQLI (Gastrointestinal Quality of Life) questionnaire.
Patients: Between January 2001 and December 2002, 127 morbidly obese patients (109 female, 18 male) with a mean age of 40.1 years were surgically treated with laparoscopic gastric banding. Quality of life, as measured by the GIQLI questionnaire, was systematically evaluated pre-operatively. During the same period, a control group of 125 healthy volunteers of comparable age, gender, and prior surgical history were evaluated using the same questionnaire.
Result: The two groups, while comparable in age and gender, were significantly different in terms of weight (123 vs. 66 kg), BMI (44.3 vs. 22.2) (p<0.001), co-morbidity factors (p=0.001), and professional activity (p=0.02). The mean global GICLI score was 122 for healthy individuals and 95 for morbidly obese patients. (p=0.001), and the differences were most marked in the super obese. These differences particularly involved social dysfunction, physical status, and emotional symptoms but were not significantly different for gastrointestinal symptoms.
Conclusion: The quality of life in morbidly obese and super obese patients is significantly diminished from that of a control population. There was good correlation between the degree of obesity (BMI) and the alteration of the GIQLI global and subscales scores. Quality of life should be systematically evaluated before and after both medical and surgical therapy.