High Bodyweight Variability Increases Depression Risk in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Nationwide Cohort Study in Korea

• Published in: Frontiers in psychiatry Vol. 12; p. 765129
• Main Authors: An, Ji Hyun, Han, Kyung-do, Jung, Jin-Hyung, Yoo, Juhwan, Fava, Maurizio, Mischoulon, David, Jung, Su-Min, Shin, Dong Wook, Hur, Kyu Yeon, Jeon, Hong Jin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 10.12.2021
• Subjects: body weight; body weight variability; depression; diabetes mellitus; nationwide; Psychiatry; body weight; nationwide; diabetes mellitus; body weight variability; depression
• ISSN: 1664-0640; 1664-0640
• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.765129

Although obesity is associated with increased risk for depression in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), the relationship between body weight variability (BWV) and depression remains poorly studied. This study was to investigate the incidence of depression in patients with type 2 DM according to their BWV. Intraindividual variation in body weight were measured in the nationwide, population-based retrospective cohort of 540,293 patients with type 2 DM from the Korean national health insurance system between 2009 and 2010. The diagnoses of new-onset depression occurring until the end of 2017 were ascertained. Risk of new-onset depression was examined using multivariate-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression analysis by BWV quartile. 93,149 (17.2%) patients developed new-onset depression for the follow up. BWV was significantly associated with an increased risk of depression after adjusting for confounding factors. The highest BWV quartile group had a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.17 (95% CI 1.15-1.19) compared to the lowest BWV quartile group as a reference. Obese patients in the highest BWV quartile group showed 12% increased risk of depression (HR 1.12, 95% CI 1.09-1.15) while non-obese patients in the highest BWV quartile group showed 20% increased risk of depression (HR: 1.20, 95% CI: 1.17-1.23) compared to their respective lowest BWV quartile groups. A higher BWV was significantly associated with an increased risk of depression in patients with type 2 DM. Thus, BWV may serve as an indicator for early detection of depression in type 2 DM patients.