Obesity and Mental Illness
“A “complex interplay” of neurobiological, psychological, and socioeconomic factors contribute to the dangerous association between obesity and mental illness, according to 2 clinical reviews published in the January issue of theCanadian Journal of Psychiatry.
In the first article, investigators discuss in detail how these factors relate to specific disorders, and how understanding better the mechanisms involved can help in choosing the most effective, patient-specific interventions possible. The second article provides an overview of current treatment options.
‘This is a serious issue. And we’re not helping our patients at all if we don’t really understand these links,’ lead author Valerie H. Taylor, MD, PhD, associate professor at the University of Toronto and psychiatrist-in-chief at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, told Medscape Medical News…
In the first review article, the investigators highlight symptoms, challenges, and underlying mechanisms for several psychiatric disorders, according to recent studies. These include the following:
- Major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder symptoms often disrupt appetite, motivation, energy, and sleep.
- Depression is also often associated with smoking and drinking, dopaminergic deficits, an increase in cortisol levels, lower grades of inflammation, and abnormal levels of leptin and adiponectin.
- Schizophrenia is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease and possibly with increased glucose dysregulation, hypodopaminergic activity, and comorbid MDD.
- Patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often have difficulties focusing on preparing healthy meals, have impulsivity issues leading to overeating, and have an inability to delay reward-seeking behaviors.
- Children with ADHD have been found to have poorer physical activity, motor performance, and motor development than their healthy peers.
- Both sexual and physical abuse have been associated with increased body mass index and waist circumference in adults, possibly as a result of an increase in levels of cortisol, which is a stress hormone.”
