Citation

Henriksen CA, Mather AA, Mackenzie CS, Bienvenu OJ, Sareen J. J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 2014; 202(5): 379-385.

Affiliation

Departments of *Psychology, †Psychiatry, and ‡Internal Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; §Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; and ∥Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/NMD.0000000000000135

PMID

24727724

Abstract

Our aim was to examine the longitudinal associations between obesity and mental health variables (psychiatric diagnoses and suicidal behaviors). Data were from waves 3 and 4 of the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area study (N = 1071). Participants were aged 30 to 86 years at wave 3 (mean, 47.6 years; SD, 12.8). The prevalence of obesity increased from 27.6% to 39.1% during the follow-up. Logistic regression analyses revealed no associations between baseline obesity and onset of mental disorders or suicidal behaviors between waves 3 and 4 in fully adjusted models; however, baseline obesity predicted new-onset suicide attempts in models adjusted for sociodemographics and mental disorders. Baseline depression predicted weight gain during the 11-year follow-up period (F = 4.014, p < 0.05), even after controlling for important confounders. Overall, most mental health variables were not associated with obesity, suggesting that clinicians and others should be wary of "weight-ism" and avoid making the assumption that higher body weight relates to mental health problems.

Language: en