Common Mental Disorder Elevates Risk for Subsequent Obesity

The relation between common mental disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety) and obesity is unclear. In this prospective cohort study, researchers followed 4363 London civil servants (28% women; mean age, 44) for 19 years to determine the association between common mental disorders and obesity.

At baseline and three times subsequently, participants underwent body-mass index determinations and completed validated questionnaires designed to identify common mental disorders. After adjustments for multiple potential confounders, occurrence of a common mental disorder was significantly associated with subsequent obesity in a dose-response fashion: Odds ratios for obesity at the final screening were 1.3, 1.6, and 2.0 among participants who had common …