Depressive symptoms among metabolically healthy and unhealthy overweight/obese individuals: a comparative study

Background: Although a growing body of evidence suggests an association between obesity and depressive disorder, the association remains inconclusive. Metabolically healthy obese (MHO) phenotype, defined by favorable lipid profile, and normal insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, may be considered as a possible explanation for these inconsistencies. Accordingly, this study aimed to compare depression score among metabolic unhealthy obese (MUO) and age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Methods: In this comparative study including 157 Iranian adults, we assigned participants into three groups (non-obese metabolic healthy group, MHO and MUO) according to the BMI cutoff and MetS criteria. Depressive symptoms were assessed by Beck Depression Inventory. Analysis was done using SPSS version 14.0. All variables are expressed as means± SD. One-way ANOVA and multiple linear regression were used for data analysis. Results: After adjustment for sex, marital status and educational level, MUO participants had significantly higher Beck depression score (p= 0.036) compared to MHO and non-obese metabolic healthy groups. After adjustment for demographic variables, there was a significant association between waist circumference (β = 0.142, p=0.023), BMI (β= 0.347, p= 0.037), FBS (β= 0.096, p< 0.001), and the number of MetS components (β= 1.71, p= 0.002) with depression score. Conclusion: MHO was a benign phenotype in relation to depression.