Obese patients are more likely to develop depressive symptoms – true or false? A recent study investigates the relationship between both conditions and finds surprising results, especially for women.
There are several comorbidities related to adiposity, like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and many cancers. The condition is also believed to have an effect on well-being and might be linked to depression, says former evidence. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that more than 1 in 100 deaths were due to suicide, which makes depression a relevant risk factor. However, a 12-year population health survey stated mixed results. Obesity can predict depression, but only in males, not females. Therefore, a new study by Irish scientists aimed to clarify the relationship between obesity, depression and well-being. According to the authors, Ireland ranks third out of 36 European countries with the highest rates of mental illness. With the aim of generating reproducible results, they used different methods to measure obesity to examine associations between mental health scores and adiposity.
The cross-sectional study conducted by the research team at the School of Public Health at the University College Cork in Ireland included 1.821 middle- to older-age men and women in Ireland. Researchers assessed well-being and depressive symptoms using a 20-item Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) as well as the WHO-5 Well-Being Index. Both aspects were examined regarding their correlation with adiposity. Adiposity was determined by BMI and waist-height ratio and compared to mental health scores by linear regression analysis. Demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors and disease conditions were also taken into account.
The study was indeed able to establish a significant link between obesity and mental health. Even after adjusting for demographic variables and lifestyle factors, the results remained constant. After considering disease conditions the relationship between BMI and waist-height ratio and mental health scores persisted, however these results were more pronounced in women than in men – indicating a significant association of adiposity with mental health, which is independent of lifestyle and diseases.
The results are consistent with previous research and underline the increased risk for obese or adipose people to develop depression. The possible reasons for this effect may have a sociological background. Obesity is still associated with prejudices and can trigger insecurities and strong self-stigma. In addition, social stigmatization can lead to discriminatory behavior towards obese people, which might further fuel self-stigma. The pain that obese patients experience – such as back pain, joint pain and fibromyalgia – might as well result in depressive symptoms.
According to the authors, the pronounced effect in females agrees with previous studies as they state that depression and anxiety diagnosis are approximately double for obese women compared to men. While the connection between high BMI and depression was true in White women, no significant association could be found in Black women. As the majority of the participants in the current study were Caucasian-Europeans, this aspect remains to be evaluated.
Nevertheless, obesity and depression show a significant interconnection. This is particularly evident in women. De-stigmatizing extra weight might possibly help to minimize risk factors for developing depressive symptoms. Most importantly the approach to treating obesity might as well change and focus more on the inclusion of mental health and well-being.
Image source: Leire Cavia, Unsplash
