Weight gain in Major Depressive Disorder: Linking appetite and disordered eating to leptin and ghrelin.

Abstract

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) involves changes in appetite and weight, with a subset of individuals at an increased risk of weight gain. Pathways to weight gain may include appetite disturbances, excess eating, and dysregulation of appetite hormones. However, little research has simultaneously examined relationships between hormones, eating behaviours and MDD symptoms. Plasma ghrelin and leptin, biometrics, eating behaviours and psychopathology were compared between depressed (n = 60) and control (n = 60) participants. Depressed participants were subcategorised into those with increased or decreased appetite/ weight for comparison by subtype. The Dutch Eating Behaviours Questionnaire and Yale Food Addiction Scale measured eating behaviours. Disordered eating was higher in MDD than controls, in females than males, and in depressed individuals with increased, compared to decreased, appetite/weight. Leptin levels were higher in females only. Leptin levels correlated positively, and ghrelin negatively, with disordered eating. The results provide further evidence for high levels of disordered eating in MDD, particularly in females. The correlations suggest that excessive eating in MDD is significantly linked to appetite hormones, indicating that it involves physiological, rather than purely psychological, factors. Further, longitudinal, research is needed to better understand whether hormonal factors play a causal role in excessive eating in MDD.

The Clinical Obesity Maintenance Model: A Theoretical Framework for Bariatric Psychology

“…These findings are consistent with the notion that rapid post-surgery weight loss only temporarily aids the remission of depression, which later re-occurs once the surgical benefits decline ( 43 , 50 , 51 ). Similarly, studies have shown that depressed mood is associated with unhealthy lifestyle habits ( 52 ), emotional eating, and loss of control (LOC) eating [e.g., ( 53 , 54 )]. In particular, post-surgery depressive symptoms have been associated with ED and weight recidivism ( 42 , 55 – 57 ).…”

Relations Between Mood States and Eating Behavior During COVID-19 Pandemic in a Sample of Italian College Students

“…Furthermore, there is an extensive literature identifying that depression is associated during the isolation with an increased risk of overeating (Baenas et al, 2020;Mengin et al, 2020). Recent studies have confirmed the relationship between depressed mood and "pathological" eating habits, depression would be associated with an increased risk of overeating (Trojanowski and Fischer, 2018;Mills et al, 2019Mills et al, , 2020.…”

Reduction of impulsivity in patients receiving deep transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment for obesity

“…While several studies indicate that some psychological traits are associated with disordered eating [10] and weight gain [11], the mechanisms underlying the relationships between these factors have not yet been exhaustively investigated. Hunger and satiety hormones such as ghrelin and leptin, and their involvement in the suppression activity of stress responses by Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis are hypothesized to play a role in the relationship between appetite/weight changes and psychological disorder onset [12]. Elevated levels of leptin have been associated with obesity, psychological distress, increasing systemic inflammation, increasing risk in the development of several maligniances (colon, ovarian cancer, prostate, and breast cancers) [13].…”