Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1410782
This article is part of the Research Topic Mind-body medicine and its impacts on psychological networks, quality of life, and health - Volume II View all 32 articles

The relationship between BMI and depression: A cross-sectional study

Provisionally accepted
Hongyu Cui Hongyu Cui 1*Ying Xiong Ying Xiong 2*Chengmin Wang Chengmin Wang 2*Jiaming Ye Jiaming Ye 3*Weisen Zhao Weisen Zhao 2*
  • 1 Department of Psychiatry, The First Harbin Psychiatric Hospital, Harbin, Jilin Province, China
  • 2 Independent researcher, Shenzhen, China
  • 3 Suzhou Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Mental health problems, especially depressive symptoms, are becoming increasingly prominent, posing a significant risk to public health. Changes in the body mass index (BMI) may impact an individual’s mental health, however, the relationship between BMI and depressive symptoms is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between BMI and depressive symptoms. Using a multi-stage sampling method, 10,686 adults in Longgang District, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, China, were selected for participation in this study. Surveys were distributed in 2020 and 2021 to measure participant demographic data and health. Binary logistic regression, restricted cubic spline regression, and subgroup analyses were performed to explore the relationship between BMI and depressive symptoms. The results showed a U-shaped relationship between BMI and depression. Both obesity and underweight increased the risk of depression, especially in subgroups of participants who were young, highly educated, single and employed. These findings suggest that adults should try to maintain a normal body weight as a way to prevent depression and maintain their physical and mental health.

    Keywords: Depression, Body Mass Index, relationship, Restricted cubic spline, subgroup analysis, risk factor

    Received: 01 Apr 2024; Accepted: 02 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Cui, Xiong, Wang, Ye and Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Hongyu Cui, Department of Psychiatry, The First Harbin Psychiatric Hospital, Harbin, Jilin Province, China
    Ying Xiong, Independent researcher, Shenzhen, China
    Chengmin Wang, Independent researcher, Shenzhen, China
    Jiaming Ye, Suzhou Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Suzhou, 215002, Jiangsu Province, China
    Weisen Zhao, Independent researcher, Shenzhen, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.