Depressive symptoms during childhood and adult obesity: the Zurich Cohort Study

Abstract

Depression and obesity have become major health problems with increasing prevalence. Given the limited effectiveness of treatment for weight problems, the identification of novel, potentially modifiable risk factors may provide insights on new preventive approaches to obesity. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that depressive symptoms during childhood are associated with weight gain and obesity during young adulthood. Participants were from a prospective community-based cohort study of young adults (N ¼ 591) followed between ages 19 and 40 years. The sample was stratified to increase the probability of somatic and psychological syndromes. Information was derived from six subsequent semistructured diagnostic interviews conducted by professionals over 20 years. The outcome measures were body mass index (BMI) and obesity (BMI430). Among women, depressive symptoms before age 17 years were associated with increased weight gain (4.8 vs 2.6% BMI increase per 10 years) representing greater risk for adult obesity (hazard ratio ¼ 11.52, Po0.05). Among men, only after controlling for confounders, depressive symptoms before age 17 years were associated with increased weight gain (6.6 vs 5.2% BMI increase per 10 years) in adulthood but not with occurrence of obesity. These associations between childhood depressive symptoms and adult body weight were adjusted for baseline body weight, a family history of weight problems, levels of physical activity, consumption of alcohol and nicotine, and demographic variables. As the magnitude of the associations was high, and depression during childhood is a prevalent and treatable condition, this finding may have important clinical implications for the prevention and treatment of obesity. Whether the results of this study are limited to populations with elevated levels of psychopathology remains to be tested. Molecular Psychiatry (2005) 10, 842-850.

Asthma and body weight change: a 20-year prospective community study of young adults

“…Recent epidemiological studies suggest relatively strong longitudinal associations between depressive symptoms during childhood and adolescence and the development of later obesity in women. 13,14 The current study adds to previous reports that childhood depressive symptoms may also explain some of the asthma-obesity comorbidity.…”

“…31 Neither of these studies reported data on the incidence of asthma after weight gain. The observation that important increases in fat mass emerge later in men than in women 13,31 may explain some inconsistent gender differences in the asthma-obesity association.…”

“…If subjects endorsed past symptoms of depression, the interviewers carefully determined the age when the first depressive symptoms occurred and collected data on impairment and treatment of these symptoms. Following the method of a previous paper on the same data set, 13 we defined childhood depressive symptoms as those with an onset before age 17 years (dichotomous variable).…”

“…Although psychosocial variables were found to play important roles in the development and persistence of asthma 12 and obesity, 13 these variables have not been considered as shared risk factors in studies on the asthmaobesity comorbidity. Specifically, depression during childhood has been associated with an increased risk of onset and recurrence of both asthma 12 and obesity.…”

“…Specifically, depression during childhood has been associated with an increased risk of onset and recurrence of both asthma 12 and obesity. 13,14 Additionally, pathophysiological mechanisms that may underlie asthma-obesity associations, including dysfunctions of the catecholaminergic system, dysfunctions of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system and systemic inflammation, 1 are also critically involved in the pathophysiology of clinical depression. 15,16 The first objective of this study was to examine temporal relationships between asthma activity and both body weight change and obesity.…”