title: Depression and body mass index, differences by education: Evidence from a population-based study of adult women in the U.S. Buffalo-Niagara region.
abstract: The relationship between obesity and depression is well described. However, the evidence linking depression and body mass index (BMI) across the broad range of body size is less consistent. We examined the association between depressive symptoms and BMI in a sample of adult women in the Buffalo-Niagara region between 1997 and 2001. Using logistic regression, we investigated whether increased weight status beyond normal-weight was associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms, and if educational attainment modified the association between obesity and depression. There was a trend for increased weight status to be associated with higher depressive symptoms (obese II/III, OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.03-2.41), whereas higher education was associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms, in an adjusted model including BMI (more than 12 but less than 16 years, OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.49-0.98; 16 or more years of education, OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.40-0.93). The association of being obese I with depressive symptoms was different for more educated (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.27-3.62) compared to less educated women (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.50-1.62); the sample was larger for the more educated women and reached statistical significance. There were no differences in the association for obese II/III women in strata of education. There was evidence of risk-difference heterogeneity (0.88, 95% CI 0.84-0.93). In this population-based sample of women in western New York state, increased weight was negligibly associated with depressive symptoms. The association of being obese I with depressive symptoms was different for more compared to less educated women.
authors.affiliation: Rice University, Department of Sociology, Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 6500 Main Street #1020, Houston, TX 77005, United States. Electronic address: awkranjac@rice.edu.
authors.forename: Ashley Wendell
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Kranjac
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, United States.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, City College of New York, United States.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trevisan
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, United States.
authors.forename: Jo L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Freudenheim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D050177:Overweight; D015995:Prevalence
keywords: Depression; Education; Obesity; Women's health