Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T04:38:40.320Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Gender Differences in the Association Between Body Mass Index and Psychopathology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Rani A. Desai ,
Melinda Manley ,
Mayur M. Desai  and
Marc N. Potenza
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Introduction: The objective of the study was to examine gender differences in the relationship between weight group (under-weight to severely obese), and Axis I and Axis II psychopathology.

Methods: Data from the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) were analyzed. Logistic regression models examined the past-year likelihood for meeting diagnostic criteria for psychiatric disorders. Interactions between weight group and gender were utilized to determine whether associations were significantly different in men and women after adjusting for demographic characteristics.

Results: First, consistent with previous NESARC analyses, the prevalence estimates of psychiatric disorders were higher among people of higher body mass index groups, regardless of gender. However, these patterns differed across genders. Both severely obese women and men, in comparison to normal weight respondents, were much more likely to meet criteria for affective and anxiety disorders, but these associations were significantly (1.5–2 times) stronger among women. For Axis II disorders, while there were very few associations between personality disorders and weight in men, among women increases in weight group were associated with increases in the likelihood of meeting criteria for a personality disorder.

Conclusion: Weight and psychopathology appear more strongly associated in women than in men. While these data do not allow for identification of underlying mechanisms, they highlight the importance of assessing for psychopathology in overweight and obese patients, and suggest that weight management may be an important consideration in the treatment of psychiatric disorders.

Type
Original Research
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 14 , Issue 7 , July 2009 , pp. 372 - 383
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Ogden, CL, Carroll, MD, Curtin, LR, McDowell, MA, Tabak, CJ, Flegal, KM. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, 1999-2004. JAMA. 2006;295:1549–1555.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Herva, A, Laitinen, J, Miettunen, J, et al.Obesity and depression: results from the longitudinal Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort Study. Int J Obes (Lond). 2006;30:520–527.Google Scholar
3.Moreira, RO, Marca, KF, Appolinario, JC, Coutinho, WF. Increased waist circumference is associated with an increased prevalence of mood disorders and depressive symptoms in obese women. Eat Weight Disord. 2007;12:35–40.Google Scholar
4.Newcomer, JW. Metabolic syndrome and mental illness. Am J Manag Care. 2007;13(Suppl 7):S170–S177.Google Scholar
5.Scott, KM, Bruffaerts, R, Simon, GE, et al.Obesity and mental disorders in the general population: results from the world mental health surveys. Int J Obes (Lond). 2008;32:192–200.Google Scholar
6.Scott, KM, McGee, MA, Wells, JE, Oakley Browne, MA. Obesity and mental disorders in the adult general population. J Psychosom Res. 2008;64:97–105.Google Scholar
7.Simon, GE, Von Korff, M, Saunders, K, et al.Association between obesity and psychiatric disorders in the US adult population. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2006;63:824–830.Google Scholar
8.Vila, G, Zipper, E, Dabbas, M, et al.Mental disorders in obese children and adolescents. Psychosom Med. 2004;66:387–394.Google ScholarPubMed
9.Lamertz, CM, Jacobi, C, Yassouridis, A, Arnold, K, Henkel, AW. Are obese adolescents and young adults at higher risk for mental disorders? A community survey. Obes Res. 2002;10:1152–1160.Google Scholar
10.Anderson, SE, Cohen, P, Naumova, EN, Jacques, PF, Must, A. Adolescent obesity and risk for subsequent major depressive disorder and anxiety disorder: prospective evidence. Psychosom Med. 2007;69:740–747.Google Scholar
11.Sansone, RA, Sansone, LA, Weiderman, MW. The comorbidity, relationship and treatment implications of borderline personality and obesity. J Psychosom Res. 1997;43:541–543.Google Scholar
12.Frankenburg, FR, Zanarini, MC. Obesity and obesity-related illnesses in borderline patients. J Pers Disord. 2006;20:71–80.Google Scholar
13.van Hanswijck, de Jonge P, van Furth, EF, Lacey, JH, Waller, G. The prevalence of DSM-IV personality pathology among individuals with bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and obesity. Psychol Med. 2003;33:1311–1317.Google Scholar
14.Sansone, RA, Wiederman, MW, Sansone, LA. The prevalence of borderline personality disorder among individuals with obesity: a critical review of the literature. Eat Behav. 2000;1:93–104.Google Scholar
15.Petry, NM, Barry, DT, Pietrzak, RH, Wagner, JA. Overweight and obesity are associated with psychiatric disorders: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Psychosom Med. 2008;70:288–297.Google Scholar
16.Barry, DT, Pietrzak, RH, Petry, NM. Gender differences in associations between Body Mass Index and DSM-IV Mood and Anxiety Disorders: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Ann Epidemiol. 2008;18:458–466.Google Scholar
17.Grant, BF, Dawson, DA, Stinson, FS, S.Chou, P, Kay, W, Pickering, R. The Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule-IV (AUDADIS-IV): reliability of alcohol consumption, tobacco use, family history of depression and psychiatric diagnostic modules in a general population sample. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2003;71:7–16.Google Scholar
18.Grant, BF, Stinson, FS, Dawson, DA, et al.Prevalence and co-occurrence of substance use disorders and independent mood and anxiety disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2004;61:807–816.Google Scholar
19.Grant, BF, Kaplan, K, Shepard, J, Moore, T. Source and Acuracy Statement for Wave 1 of the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; 2003.Google Scholar
20.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th Ed, Text Revision. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association: 2000.Google Scholar
21.Grant, BF, Hasin, DS, Stinson, FS, et al.Co-occurrence of 12-month mood and anxiety disorders and personality disorders in the US: results from the national epidemiologic survey on alcohol and related conditions. J Psychiatr Res. 2005;39:1–9.Google Scholar
22. NIH. Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults: the evidence report: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in cooperation with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; September 1998:98–4083.Google Scholar
23. SUDAAN Software [computer program]. Version 8.0.0. Research Triangle Park, NC: Research Triangle Institute; 2001.Google Scholar
24.Desai, RA, Potenza, MN. Gender differences in the associations between past-year gambling problems and psychiatric disorders. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2008;43:173–183.Google Scholar
25.Kendler, KS, Prescott, CA, Neale, MC. The structure of genetic and environmental risk factors for common psychiatric and substance use disorders in women and men. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2003;60:929–937.Google Scholar
26.Bornstein, SR, Schuppenies, A, Wong, ML, Licinio, J. Approaching the shared biology of obesity and depression: the stress axis as the locus of gene-environment interactions. Mol Psychiatry. 2006;11:892–902.Google Scholar
27.Lu, XY. The leptin hypothesis of depression: a potential link between mood disorders and obesity? Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2007;7:648–652.Google Scholar
28.Barry, DT, Grilo, CM, Masheb, RM. Comparison of patients with bulimia nervosa, obese patients with binge eating disorder, and nonobese patients with binge eating disorder. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2003;191:589–594.Google Scholar
29.Bulik, CM, Sullivan, PF, Kendler, KS. Medical and psychiatric morbidity in obese women with and without binge eating. Int J Eat Disord. 2002;32:72–78.Google Scholar
30.Melamed, Y, Stein-Reisner, O, Gelkopf, M, et al.Multi-modal weight control intervention for people with persistent mental disorders. Psychiatr Rehabil J. 2008;31:194–200.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed