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. 2024 Nov 30;16(11):e74806.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.74806. eCollection 2024 Nov.

Assessment of the Correlation Between Obesity and Depression Among Adults in Saudi Arabia

Nasser Al Shanbari  1 , Mohammed Basnawi  2 , Ahmad O Bazarra  2 , Hassan Khoj  3 , Mohammed Alharhi  4 , Bassil Almtrafi  3 , Redwan Mirdad  5 , Khalid Al-Zahrani  6 , Mokhtar Shatla  7
Affiliations

Assessment of the Correlation Between Obesity and Depression Among Adults in Saudi Arabia

Nasser Al Shanbari et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Background The prevalence of obesity has increased over the years, resulting in multiple physical and psychological health issues that impact the quality of human life. Numerous Western studies have linked obesity and depression, but few studies have investigated this correlation among the Saudi population. Hence, this study assesses the correlation between obesity and depression among the general population of Saudi Arabia. Methods To conduct this cross-sectional study, we used an electronic questionnaire obtained from previous studies and included the patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to assess the study sample for depression. We enrolled 766 Saudi adults in our study. The data obtained from the participants was analyzed with IBM SPSS software using the chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, ANOVA, and binary logistic regression. Results The majority of the participants were female (n = 391, 51%), aged between 18 and 25 years (n = 498, 65.0%). In terms of BMI, 18.3% were obese (n = 140). Regarding depressive symptoms assessment, 30% showed mild depression, making this the most prevalent category. Moderate depression was represented by 22.6% of the participants. The highest mean depressive symptom score was seen in the obese group (BMI ≥ 30.0), with a mean score of 10.04 (SD = 6.9). Conclusion A significant correlation was detected between the highest mean depressive symptom score and obesity, and psychological disorders or chronic disease also showed a significant association with depression.

Keywords: diet and depression; obesity complications; obesity medicine; obesity risk; risk of depression.

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Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. The Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia issued approval HAPO-02-K-012-2024-10-2218. The study was conducted in July 2024 after receiving ethical approval from the Biomedical Ethics Committee at the College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia (Approval number: HAPO-02-K-012-2024-10-2218). Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Overall depression level among participants based on PHQ-9 scale
PHQ-9: Patient health questionnaire-9.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Boxplot showing depression score difference based on BMI level
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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