With increasing rates of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in the United States, there is an urgent need for effective weight loss treatments for younger patients. Recently, bariatric surgery has been considered as a treatment for seriously overweight adolescents because of the potential for substantial decreases in weight and subsequent improvements in physical health. The broad aim of this Mentored Patient- Oriented Career Development Award (K23) is to examine the interaction of psychological factors and serious overweight to determine if particular patterns of observable psychological symptoms (psychological phenotypes) are helpful in predicting outcomes of bariatric surgery. This project represents a crucial first step in a program of research to understand and address the interaction between mental and physical health among severely obese adolescents seeking bariatric surgery. This K23 application describes a plan of training and research for the candidate to become an independent clinical researcher with expertise in measuring relationships between mental and physical health over time and developing and validating novel treatments for eating and weight disorders in adolescence. The research plan involves: (1) the longitudinal prospective measurement of psychopathology among severely obese adolescents enrolled in a bariatric surgery program, and (2) the development and pilot testing of a treatment intervention delivered via telemedicine. Secondary aims of this application include evaluating the effect of psychiatric symptoms and the treatment intervention on compliance with post-surgery follow-up appointments and weight loss. The proposed research will require the candidate to obtain additional training in the treatment of obese adolescents, the provision of remote treatment (telemedicine), and longitudinal and treatment outcome research. Data from the proposed study will be broadly applicable to the study of interactions between psychological factors and compliance with treatment for youth with chronic health conditions. The results of the proposed K23 award will also be used in the development of a R-level grant application to conduct a larger trial evaluating the efficacy of the telemedicine treatment intervention.

Public Health Relevance

The prevalence of overweight among children and adolescents is a national public health crisis. As more adolescents and their parents consider bariatric surgery for the treatment of severe obesity; additional research is needed to examine factors influencing compliance with surgical recommendations and the interaction of physical and mental health among seriously overweight adolescents.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
Project #
7K23DK088532-06
Application #
8966989
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-RPHB-K (02))
Program Officer
Podskalny, Judith M,
Project Start
2010-03-01
Project End
2015-11-30
Budget Start
2014-11-02
Budget End
2015-11-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$52,153
Indirect Cost
$3,863
Name
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
078861598
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10029
Sysko, Robyn; Ojserkis, Rachel; Schebendach, Janet et al. (2017) Impulsivity and test meal intake among women with bulimia nervosa. Appetite 112:1-8
Gianini, Loren; Roberto, Christina A; Attia, Evelyn et al. (2017) Mild, moderate, meaningful? Examining the psychological and functioning correlates of DSM-5 eating disorder severity specifiers. Int J Eat Disord 50:906-916
Call, C C; Devlin, M J; Fennoy, I et al. (2017) Who seeks bariatric surgery? Psychosocial functioning among adolescent candidates, other treatment-seeking adolescents with obesity and healthy controls. Clin Obes 7:384-392
McPhee, Jeanne; Khlyavich Freidl, Eve; Eicher, Julia et al. (2015) Suicidal Ideation and Behaviours Among Adolescents Receiving Bariatric Surgery: A Case-Control Study. Eur Eat Disord Rev 23:517-23
Sysko, Robyn; Glasofer, Deborah R; Hildebrandt, Tom et al. (2015) The eating disorder assessment for DSM-5 (EDA-5): Development and validation of a structured interview for feeding and eating disorders. Int J Eat Disord 48:452-63
Sysko, Robyn; Hildebrandt, Tom B; Kaplan, Simona et al. (2014) Predictors and correlates of follow-up visit adherence among adolescents receiving laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Surg Obes Relat Dis 10:914-20
Freidl, Eve Khlyavich; Sysko, Robyn; Devlin, Michael J et al. (2013) School and cognitive functioning problems in adolescent bariatric surgery candidates. Surg Obes Relat Dis 9:991-6
Sysko, Robyn; Zandberg, Laurie J; Devlin, Michael J et al. (2013) Mental Health Evaluations for Adolescents Prior to Bariatric Surgery: A Review of Existing Practices and a Specific Example of Assessment Procedures. Clin Obes 3:62-72
Roberto, Christina A; Sysko, Robyn; Bush, Jennifer et al. (2012) Clinical correlates of the weight bias internalization scale in a sample of obese adolescents seeking bariatric surgery. Obesity (Silver Spring) 20:533-9
Sysko, Robyn; Roberto, Christina A; Barnes, Rachel D et al. (2012) Test-retest reliability of the proposed DSM-5 eating disorder diagnostic criteria. Psychiatry Res 196:302-8

Showing the most recent 10 out of 17 publications