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. 2021 Nov;44(6):992-1000.
doi: 10.1080/10790268.2018.1507801. Epub 2018 Sep 5.

Multimorbidity of overweight and obesity alongside anxiety and depressive disorders in individuals with spinal cord injury

Scott Graupensperger  1 , Shane N Sweet  2 , M Blair Evans  1
Affiliations

Multimorbidity of overweight and obesity alongside anxiety and depressive disorders in individuals with spinal cord injury

Scott Graupensperger et al. J Spinal Cord Med. 2021 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: To compare the prevalence of anxiety/depression and overweight/obesity (Aim 1) and the multimorbidity of these conditions (Aim 2) in a sample of adults with and without spinal cord injury (SCI). Aim 3 was to examine whether overweight/obese individuals with SCI differ on the prevalence of anxiety/depressive disorders compared to non-overweight/obese individuals with SCI.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Participants: Individuals ≥16 years old who had patient encounters between January 1, 2011, and February 28, 2018. In total, 761 598 individuals were included, of which 3136 had SCI.

Main outcome measures: Individuals were identified as diagnosed with SCI, anxiety and/or depressive disorders, and overweight/obesity using the International Classification of Diseases.

Results: Age-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were calculated using logistic regression. In contrast to non-SCI individuals, those with SCI had increased odds of anxiety disorders (OR: 3.58, 95% CI [3.29-3.90]), depressive disorders (OR: 4.33, 95% CI [3.95-4.74]), and overweight/obesity (OR: 3.08, 95% CI [2.80-3.38]). Pertaining to multimorbidity, individuals with SCI had increased odds of having overweight/obesity alongside anxiety disorders (OR: 4.30, 95% CI [3.71-4.98]) and overweight/obesity alongside depressive disorders (OR: 4.69, 95% CI [4.01-5.47]) compared to those without SCI. Individuals with SCI who were diagnosed as overweight/obese had increased odds of having anxiety disorders (OR: 2.54, 95% CI [2.06-3.13]), and depressive disorders (OR: 2.70, 95% CI [2.18-3.36]), relative to non-overweight/obese individuals with SCI.

Conclusions: This work is among the first to find evidence that individuals with SCI are at heightened odds of overweight/obesity alongside anxiety and/or depressive disorders. This early work holds clinical implications for treating these interrelated comorbidities in SCI.

Keywords: Mental health; Multimorbidity; Physical disability; Weight gain.

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