Association of depression and anxiety disorders with weight change in a prospective community-based study of children followed up into adulthood.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate childhood to adulthood weight change associated with anxiety and depression.


METHODS
The Children in the Community Study. A prospective longitudinal investigation.


METHODS
Albany and Saratoga Counties, New York.


METHODS
Eight hundred twenty individuals (403 females and 417 males) assessed at 4 time points: in 1983 when they were 9 to 18 years old (n = 776), in 1985 to 1986 when they were 11 to 22 years old (n = 775), in 1991 to 1994 when they were 17 to 28 years old (n = 776), and in 2001 to 2003 when they were 28 to 40 years old (n = 661).


METHODS
Anxiety disorders and depression assessed by structured diagnostic interview.


METHODS
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention body mass index z score (BMIz), a measure of weight status; and association of anxiety and depression with BMIz level and annual change.


RESULTS
In females, anxiety disorders were associated with higher weight status, a BMIz of 0.13 (95% confidence interval, 0.01-0.25) units higher compared with females without anxiety disorders. Female depression was associated with a gain in BMIz of 0.09 units/y (95% confidence interval, 0.03-0.15 units/y), modified by the age when depression was first observed, such that early depression onset was associated with a higher subsequent BMIz than depression onset at older ages. In males, childhood depression was associated with a lower BMIz (-0.46; 95% confidence interval, -0.93 to 0.02 units lower at the age of 9 years), but BMIz trajectories for males with or without depression converged in adulthood; male anxiety disorders were not substantively associated with weight status.


CONCLUSIONS
Anxiety disorders and depression were associated with a higher BMIz in females, whereas these disorders in males were not associated with a higher BMIz. These results, if causal and confirmed in other prospective studies, support treating female anxiety and depression as part of comprehensive obesity prevention efforts.
Anderson
Sarah E
SE
Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, Mass 02111, USA. sarah.anderson@tufts.edu
Cohen
Patricia
P
Naumova
Elena N
EN
Must
Aviva
A
D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D017678:Sex Distribution