Evaluation of quality of life in severely obese patients after bariatric surgery carried out in the public healthcare system

objectives: to assess qol of obese patients in the brazilian public healthcare system, before and after bariatric surgery, and to determine the appropriateness of the moorehead-ardelt questionnaire ii (m-a-qolqii) compared with the short-form health survey (sf-36). subjects and methods: forty-one severe obese patients in a waiting-list, and 84 patients who underwent bariatric surgery were included. correlations were tested and reliability determined by the cronbach's coefficient. results: bmi differed between the pre- and post-surgery groups (52.3 ± 8.3 kg/m2 vs. 32.5 ± 6.4 kg/m2, p < 0.001). the latter showed better scores in the sf-36 domains than in the pre-surgery. sf-36 and m-a-qolqii categories were correlated (r = 0.53, 0.49 and 0.47, for vitality, mental health, and general health domains, p < 0.001). in the logistic regression, age, previous bmi, and loss of excess weight were associated with functional capacity. conclusions: the outcomes of bariatric surgery obtained in a brazilian public healthcare center were successful. m-a-qolii represents a useful tool to assess surgery outcomes, including qol.