Associations of mood symptoms and body mass among individuals with COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on mental health, and individuals with certain preexisting morbidities-such as obesity-may have disproportionately experienced pandemic-related stress. We aimed to examine whether being obese or overweight was associated with worse mood and trauma among those infected with COVID-19.

Data were collected as part of a larger longitudinal survey study (n = 591) examining the psychological impact of COVID-19. Complete baseline data for those who reported testing positive from April 2020 through June 2021 were examined.

Body mass index was correlated with depression (r = 0.13, P < .01) and generalized anxiety disorder (r = 0.10, P = .02), but not with posttraumatic stress disorder (r = 0.06, P = .16). Multivariable analyses revealed that body mass index was no longer a unique predictor, except for those with a body mass index >40 kg/m², suggesting that other sociodemographic factors, not obesity, were driving mood symptoms for those infected with COVID-19.