Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024;17(3):237-242.
doi: 10.1159/000535067. Epub 2024 Apr 10.

Traumatic Life Events, Violence, and Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study from 408 Patients Enrolled in a Bariatric Surgery Program

Alhassane Diallo  1 , Nadine Minier  2 , Jean-Baptiste Bonnet  2   3 , Christine Bourrié  2 , Valérie Lacroix  2 , Alexandrine Robert  4 , Patrick Lefebvre  2 , Saadeddine Joumaa  4 , Antoine Avignon  2 , Eric Renard  1   2   5 , David Nocca  4   5 , Florence Galtier  1   2
Affiliations

Traumatic Life Events, Violence, and Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study from 408 Patients Enrolled in a Bariatric Surgery Program

Alhassane Diallo et al. Obes Facts. 2024.

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity is a chronic disease that increases cardiovascular and metabolic morbidity and mortality, decreases quality of life, and increases health care costs. While the role of lifestyle behavioral factors in the development of obesity is well established, the role of traumatic life events, including violence, is unclear. The purpose of this study was to describe situations of traumatic life events reported by patients undergoing a bariatric surgery program, with a particular focus on sexual violence and its clinical correlates.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, patients with grade II or III obesity, admitted to our digestive surgery department for bariatric surgery from August 01, 2019, to December 31, 2020, underwent a structured interview by a trained psychologist to describe the history of traumatic life events self-reported by the patients. The primary endpoint was the presence of a history of sexual violence (SV). Multivariate logistic regressions were applied to identify independent risk factors for SV.

Results: Of the 408 patients interviewed, 87.1% reported at least one traumatic life event and 33.1% reported having had an SV in the past. Female gender (aOR = 7.44, 95% confidence interval: 3.85-15.73; p < 0.001) and higher body mass index (1.05, 1.02-1.08; p = 0.002) were associated with an increased risk of SV. Male gender was associated with a higher risk of difficulties including sports cessation, depression, and work-related distress.

Conclusion: In the context of obesity, psychosocial trauma is characterized by a high frequency and several gender specificities that must be taken into account in the management of these patients.

Keywords: Bariatric surgery; Obesity; Sexual violence; Trauma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

All authors declared no competing interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Association between characteristics of participants and SV estimated in multivariate logistic regression model. aOR, adjusted odds ratio from logarithm scale; CI, confidence interval.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. NCD Risk Factor Collaboration NCD-RisC . Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults. Nature. 2019;569(7755):260–4. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Flegal KM, Kit BK, Orpana H, Graubard BI. Association of all-cause mortality with overweight and obesity using standard body mass index categories: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2013;309(1):71–82. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ghosh S, Bouchard C. Convergence between biological, behavioural and genetic determinants of obesity. Nat Rev Genet. 2017;18(12):731–48. - PubMed
    1. Fleischer T, Ulke C, Beutel M, Binder H, Brähler E, Johar H, et al. . The relation between childhood adversity and adult obesity in a population-based study in women and men. Sci Rep. 2021;11(1):14068. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Karam JG, McFarlane SI. Secondary causes of obesity. Therapy. 2007;4(5):641–50.