Phubbing Behaviors and Psychological Distress in Obese Patients Scheduled for Bariatric Surgery: A Case–Control Study

Aim To investigate psychiatric symptoms and phubbing (phone-snubbing) behaviors in severe obese patients undergoing preoperative evaluation for bariatric surgery and to perform comparisons with non-obese controls. Methods This cross-sectional case-control study included 100 severe obese patients referred for psychiatric evaluation before bariatric surgery and 101 age- and sex-matched non-obese controls. Sociodemographic and clinical variables, smartphone use, sleep, eating habits, and physical activity were assessed through structured interviews. Phubbing was measured using the Generic Scale of Phubbing, while psychological distress was evaluated with the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) form. The primary endpoints were differences in phubbing and psychiatric symptom scores between the obese and control groups. Secondary endpoints included associations between phubbing subdimensions and other characteristics. Results The groups were similar in terms of age (p = 0.122) and sex distribution (p = 0.841). Obese subjects had greater frequency of divorced / single status (p = 0.012), living alone (p = 0.002), smoking (p < 0.001), associated medical problems (hypertension and diabetes mellitus; p < 0.001 for both), sleeping problems (p < 0.001), physical inactivity (p < 0.001), and unhealthy eating habits (p < 0.001). Phubbing scores were higher in obese patients across all subdimensions: nomophobia (p = 0.020), interpersonal conflict (p = 0.012), self-isolation (p = 0.045), problem acknowledgement (p = 0.047), and overall score (p < 0.001). On the SCL-90-R, obese patients had higher levels of somatization (p < 0.001), obsessive-compulsive symptoms (p = 0.038), depression (p < 0.001), anxiety (p = 0.044), hostility (p = 0.008), phobic anxiety (p = 0.047), additional symptoms (p < 0.001), and the Global Symptom Index (p < 0.001). Within the obese group, higher education was associated with elevated nomophobia (p = 0.002), sleep problems with greater interpersonal conflict (p = 0.018), and lack of associated medical problems with higher problem acknowledgement (p = 0.046). Conclusion Severe obese patients evaluated for bariatric surgery exhibited significantly higher phubbing behaviors, psychological distress, and adverse lifestyle patterns compared to controls. Obesity appears to be impactful on digital behaviors and psychiatric symptoms, which reveals the need for integrated preoperative assessment and intervention.