Obesity Linked to Increased Risk for Mental Health Diagnoses

Significant sex differences observed for most disorders, with increased risk seen for almost all disorders among women

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 14, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Obesity is associated with an increased risk for mental health diagnoses, according to a study published online May 30 in Translational Psychiatry.

Michael Leutner, Ph.D., from the Medical University of Vienna, and colleagues analyzed the Austrian national registry data of inpatient services from 1997 to 2014 to examine associations between a hospital diagnosis of obesity and psychiatric disorders. The directions of the associations were also assessed.

The researchers found that across all age groups, receiving a diagnosis of obesity was associated with significantly increased odds for a large spectrum of psychiatric disorders, including depression, psychosis-spectrum, anxiety, eating, and personality disorders. Obesity was significantly more often the diagnosis received first for all co-diagnoses except for psychosis-spectrum. Significant sex differences were found for most disorders, with increased risk for all disorders except schizophrenia and nicotine addiction for women.

“Routine screenings for depressive episodes, anxiety and somatization, psychosis-spectrum such as schizophrenia and schizoaffective as well as personality disorders are called for whenever establishing a diagnosis of obesity,” the authors write. “Increases in risk for being diagnosed with a mental health disorder following a diagnosis of obesity were shown to be long lasting.”