Abstract
Purpose: Although the relationship between mental health disorders and obesity has been established, limited research addresses the relation between overall mental health and obesity status, especially by gender and age groups. The purpose of this study is to examine whether current general mental health differs by obesity status among young adult, middle-aged, and older adult females in the general population. Methods: The cross-sectional analysis used 2016 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for young adult females (N=1.535), middle-aged females (N=6.198), and older adult females (N=5.567) from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Multiple logistic regression analyses by age group and state were used to assess the relationship between obesity and current mental health while controlling for health status, health behaviors, demographic factors, and socioeconomic status. Results: Less than half of participants in all age groups reported current mental health issues (young: 44%-51%; middle-aged: 41%-43%, older: 18%-29%) or obese status (young: 29%-41%; middle-aged: 38%-49%; older: 27%-35%). The results of adjusted analyses showed that current mental health did not differ by weight status within any age groups across states. However, in at least 3 of 4 states, current mental health was highly-related to number of health conditions in all age groups, and moderately-related to general health and substance use in middle-aged and older adult females. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that current mental health is not related to obesity in females of different age groups, but that current mental health is consistently and moderately to highly-related to number of health conditions in all age groups and to substance use in middle-aged and older adult females. Practitioners should screen for all of these in adult female patients who present with any, regardless of age and educate and treat as comorbid conditions.
Highlights
Poor mental health status, which includes depression, daily stress, and emotional problems is becoming increasingly prevalent in the United States [1,2]
Number of health conditions was defined as the number of “yes” responses to having a diagnosis for heart attack, coronary heart disease, stroke, skin cancer, cancer, COPD, Young adult females
The purpose of this study was to examine whether current general mental health differs by obesity status among young adult, middle-aged, and older adult females in the general population
Summary
Poor mental health status, which includes depression, daily stress, and emotional problems is becoming increasingly prevalent in the United States [1,2]. Anxiety has the highest prevalence in developed countries [4] and depression has one of the highest rates observed in patients acquiring outpatient care [5]. Mental illness has been related to poor overall health and presence of chronic disease [6,7]. Other research indicates that poor mental health differs by demographic factors such as increased age, ethnic/racial groups, and lower income and education [7,8]
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