Weight change in depression

This report describes the weight changes of 109 outpatients during the course of a depressive illness and relates these changes to several potential predictors: age, gender, diagnosis, and scores on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), the Beck Depression Inventory, and the three factors on the Eating Questionnaire. Weight changes ranged from -33 to +50 pounds, with 40% of the patients reporting weight gain, 30% weight loss, and 30% no change in weight. Weight loss occurred more rapidly than did weight gain. The disinhibition factor of the Eating Questionnaire was significantly correlated with weight change during depression and, on a stepwise discriminant function analysis, differentiated weight-gaining from weight-losing patients at a high level of statistical significance. Severity of depression also differentiated weight-gaining from weight-losing patients in the discriminant function analysis, but only on the HRSD and at a level of more modest statistical significance.