Obesity and the risk for mental disorders in a representative German adult sample

Abstract

Obesity is associated with a low SES and some somatic disadvantages but not with other social or emotional disadvantages that have been often assumed to be very prevalent in that group. From the population-based perspective, obesity per se seems not to be associated with a higher risk for suffering from mental disorders, whereas relations between specific aspects of obesity and specific types of psychopathology still need further study.

The association between obesity and anxiety disorders in the population: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…We found three additional studies through bibliography hand-searches, yielding 16 relevant publications for this systematic review. [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45] Inter-rater agreement was good for study screening (kappa statistic 0.72, 95% CI: 0.57-0.87) and for quality assessment (kappa 0.75, 95% CI: 0.62-0.88). Tables 1 and 2 summarize the characteristics and main findings of the prospective and cross-sectional studies, respectively.…”

“…Seven studies showed a significant positive association [30][31][32]39,[41][42][43] while five showed a positive trend that was nonsignificant for at least one gender stratum. 34,35,37,44,45 In the largest study on obesity and anxiety disorder to date, Zhao et al 45 analyzed data from 177 047 American adults. Participants self-reported any lifetime medically diagnosed anxiety disorder.…”

“…31,[35][36][37]41,42 Subgroup analysis showed that the pooled estimate for poorly adjusted studies was higher and presented greater variability than for adequately controlled studies. Poor confounder control could have an important effect on results.…”

“…Poor confounder control could have an important effect on results. For instance, Hach et al 35 found obesity to be significantly associated with anxiety disorders in men but reported no significant association after adjustment for somatic conditions. Confounder selection was also inconsistent across studies.…”

“…Only three studies controlled for physical comorbidities 35,39,45 and three for psychiatric comorbidities. 40,43,44 Adverse health conditions are predictors of both obesity and anxiety disorders 12 and may have accounted for some of the observed association between obesity and anxiety.…”