Metabolic Health, Overweight or Obesity, and Depressive Symptoms among Older Australian Adults

Jacob Opio; Katie Wynne; John Attia; Christopher Oldmeadow; Stephen Hancock; Brian Kelly; Kerry Inder; Mark McEvoy

doi:10.3390/nu16070928

Metabolic Health, Overweight or Obesity, and Depressive Symptoms among Older Australian Adults

Nutrients. 2024 Mar 23;16(7):928. doi: 10.3390/nu16070928.

Authors

Jacob Opio¹, Katie Wynne^{1

2

3}, John Attia^{1

3}, Christopher Oldmeadow^{1

3}, Stephen Hancock³, Brian Kelly^{1

3}, Kerry Inder^{3

4}, Mark McEvoy^{1

3

5}

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
² Diabetes and Endocrinology, John Hunter Hospital, Lot 1 Kookaburra Circuit, New Lambton Heights, NSW 2305, Australia.
³ Hunter Medical Research Institute, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
⁴ School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health Medicine and Wellbeing, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
⁵ La Trobe Rural Health School, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Edwards Road, Flora Hill, VIC 3552, Australia.

Abstract

Background: The relationship between overweight or obesity and depressive symptoms in individuals with or without cardio-metabolic abnormalities is unclear. In a cross-sectional study we examined the odds of experiencing depressive symptoms in overweight or obese older adults with or without metabolic abnormalities.

Methods: The participants included 3318 older adults from the Hunter Community Study Cohort with a Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 18.5 kgm², stratified by BMI and metabolic health risk. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 30 kgm² and metabolically healthy as the absence of metabolic risk factors, according to International Diabetic Federation criteria for metabolic syndromes. Moderate to severe depressive symptoms were defined as a Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) score ≥ 16.

Results: Compared to the metabolically healthy normal weight (MHNW) group, the odds of experiencing moderate/severe depressive symptoms were higher in those classified as a metabolically unhealthy normal weight (MUNW) (odds ratio (OR) = 1.25, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.76-2.06) or metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUO) (OR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.00-2.19), but not in those classified as metabolically unhealthy overweight (MUOW) (OR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.63-1.45), metabolically healthy overweight (MHOW) (OR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.51-1.26), and metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) (OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.65-1.64). Compared with MHNW males, the odds of moderate/severe depressive symptoms were increased in all other BMI category-metabolic health groups for males and females.

Limitations: Our relatively small sample size and cross-sectional design did not allow us to robustly establish causality.

Conclusion: The odds of experiencing moderate/severe depressive symptoms were increased in metabolically unhealthy older adults regardless of normal weight or obesity, with the odds of having moderate/severe depressive symptoms being higher in females than in males.

Keywords: depression; depressive symptoms; metabolic health; normal weight; obesity; overweight.

MeSH terms

Aged
Australia / epidemiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression* / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Male
Obesity / complications
Obesity / epidemiology
Overweight* / epidemiology

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.