Obesity and depression symptoms in the Beaver Dam Offspring Study population.
BACKGROUND
Depression and obesity are both important public health problems. However, it is not clear whether obesity contributes to depression. Our study aims to evaluate the association between obesity and possible depression.


METHODS
During the Beaver Dam Offspring Study examination, participants' body weight and height were measured with a Detecto 758C digital scale with height bar, and depression symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) Scale. Other relevant information, such as demographic factors, lifestyle factors, comorbidities, and use of antidepressants, was also collected during the examination. There were 2,641 participants included in the analyses.


RESULTS
Obesity was associated with possible depression measured by CES-D Scale (OR=1.6, 95% CI: 1.3-2.0) after controlling for age and gender. The association remained similar after further adjustments. Obesity was significantly associated with all four domains measured by CES-D Scale after controlling for age and sex, with the largest effect on "Somatic Complaints" domain (beta .15, 95% CI: 0.0836-0.223). The association with "Interpersonal Difficulties" was not significant after further adjustments.


CONCLUSIONS
Obesity was associated with a higher risk of possible depression and had different influences on specific domains of depression symptoms measured by CES-D Scale. These findings suggest the need for longitudinal studies on the effects of obesity on specific depression symptoms.
Zhong
Wenjun
W
Population HealthSciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA. wzhong@wisc.edu
Cruickshanks
Karen J
KJ
Schubert
Carla R
CR
Nieto
F Javier
FJ
Huang
Guan-Hua
GH
Klein
Barbara E K
BE
Klein
Ronald
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012306:Risk; D055815:Young Adult