Obesity and depression: the course of depressive disorders depending on the body mass index, the role of physical activity and cognitive-behavioral therapy for their correction

Abstract

Purpose: to establish the relationship between the severity of the course of depressive disorders and body mass index in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease on the background of abdominal obesity, the role of physical activity and cognitive-behavioral therapy for their correction.
 Materials and methods. 272 people (136 women and 136 men) were examined. The patients were divided into two clinical groups: 1st group – 90 people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and overweight (average body mass index =27.5±1.31 kg/m2), who followed only dietary recommendations and a complex physical exercises; 2nd group - 92 people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and abdominal obesity of the 1st degree (average body mass index =31.74±1.03 kg/m2), who additional underwent a 6-month course of cognitive-behavioral therapy. The control group consisted of 90 people with normal body weight (average body mass index =22.41±1.43 kg/m2). The Beck scale was used to assess the presence of depression.
 Results. Depression in patients of the 1st and 2nd groups was registered in 2.3 times (x2=28.105, p=4.762e-10<0.05) and 2.6 times more often (x2=12.019, p=0.007<0.05), than in the control group. Mild depressive disorders in 1.9 times (D=0.304, p=0.032<0.005) more often recorded in young women (up to 45 years old). Patients of the 2nd group, who additionally received a course of CBT, recorded a decrease in the number of depressive disorders of moderate severity by 3.33 times (D=0.1837, p=0.0133), compared to the patients of the 1st group.
 Conclusions. Gender-age characteristics and weight affect the severity of depressive disorders in obese patients. To reduce the number of depressive disorders and optimize body mass index, it is mandatory to use combined treatment in the form of aerobic exercises and cognitive-behavioral training.