BACKGROUND: The prevalence of ADHD in Israeli adolescents ranges 3%-17%. A well-known comorbidity exists between obesity and ADHD in the general population. The prevalence of ADHD in adolescents with severe obesity seeking bariatric surgery had not yet been examined. The association between ADHD symptoms and weight loss after bariatric surgery in youth is also unknown.
AIMS: To determine the prevalence of ADHD in adolescents seeking bariatric surgery, and to compare post-surgical weight loss between adolescents with and without ADHD.
METHODS: Ninety obese adolescents were evaluated for bariatric surgery by the multi-disciplinary team in our institution between 2012-2017; 59 underwent surgery, and 44 had one-year post-surgical weight loss data. ADHD diagnosis was based on medical history and interviews by a psychiatrist and psychologist/social-worker.
RESULTS: The prevalence of ADHD in adolescents seeking bariatric surgery was 29.3%. Mean BMI at surgery was lower in the ADHD group (44.1 vs 46.9 kg/m2, p=0.036). There was no significant between-group difference in the magnitude of weight loss one year after surgery, yet the resolution of obesity in the ADHD group was much higher (55% vs 21%, p=0.057). In a subgroup of 16 patients without diagnosed ADHD that filled ADHD-RS questionnaires, a significant negative correlation was found between ADHD symptoms and BMI reduction (rs= -0.653, p=0.003, power=80%).
CONCLUSION: In this first study of ADHD in adolescents seeking bariatric surgery, the prevalence of diagnosed ADHD was high. ADHD was not associated with different magnitudes of weight loss after surgery, yet ADHD symptoms were related to lower weight loss.
