Depressive symptoms and change in abdominal obesity in the elderly: positive or negative association?

Recent evidence suggests that depression can result in abdominal obesity in the elderly. Few longitudinal studies are available and none has been conducted outside the United States.

To examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and abdominal obesity, data from 3,998 community-dwelling Chinese elderly men and women age 65 years and older with 4-year follow-up were analyzed. Depression was defined by a Geriatric Depression Scale score of 8 or higher. At baseline and after 4 years, overall obesity measures included body mass index, percentage of body fat, and general adiposity or body fat index (expressed by total body fat mass measured by DEXA (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) in kilograms divided by the square of stature in meters). Abdominal obesity measures included waist circumference, waist to hip ratio, and relative truncal fat (ratio of truncal fat mass to total fat mass measured by DEXA).

After adjustment for sociodemographics, lifestyle, and medical factors, the presence of clinically relevant depressive symptoms at baseline was associated with significant decrease in waist circumference at follow-up after adjusting for sociodemographic factors, baseline obesity, lifestyle, and medical factors (β = -1.801, t = -2.93, df = 1564, p = 0.0034), although this relationship disappeared in older age women in further age-stratified analysis.

This study shows that depressive symptoms may result in a decrease in abdominal obesity, suggesting that more research is needed to further explore this relationship. Similar studies conducted in different cultural groups may help to explain these conflicting findings.