Table 1.
Basic characteristics of the included studies.
| First Author [Reference] |
Publication Year | Sample Characteristics [Number of Participants (Mean Age ± SD or Age Range in Years) % Females] | Primary Diagnosis | Diagnosis Establishement | Main Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assari and Caldwell [51] | 2015 | 1170 (13–17) 52% | Depression | CIDI | Non-significant associations between obesity and MDD, significant interaction between ethnicity and obesity in MDD. |
| Chen [52] | 2015 | 1101 (12–18) 45.8% | Depression | CES-D | Depression was positively but weakly associated with obesity in younger adolescents (12–15 years), but not in older adolescents (15–18 years). |
| Hoare [53] | 2014 | 800 (13.1 ± 0.62) 55% | Depression | SMFQ | Obesity contributed significantly to depressive symptomatology, and some of these patterns differed across gender. Adolescents with greater sedentary behaviors reported greater symptomatic depression, before and after adjusting for covariates. |
| Lindberg [54] | 2020 | 12507 (6–18) 46.9% | Depression, anxiety | ICD-10 | Obesity was a significant risk factor for anxiety and depression in children and adolescents. Obese girls had 43% higher risk for anxiety and depression (p < 0.0001). The risk in obese boys was similar (p < 0.0001). |
| Rottenberg [55] | 2014 | 566 (7–14) NA | Depression | SCA-D | Individuals with a diagnosis of depression had higher rate of obesity than controls (OR 3.67, CI = 1.42–9.52). |
| Ting [56] | 2012 | 869 (15.7) 47% | Depression | CES-D | Depressive symptomatology significantly correlated with obesity (p = 0.02) and the association was mediated by perceived weight status, increased weight concern, and food uptake restraint. |
| Moharei [57] | 2018 | 160 (5–17) 47.5% | Anxiety, depression | STAIC, CDI | Non-significant differences in scores of anxiety and depression between obese and non-obese individuals. |
| Jensen [58] | 2017 | 113 (15.74 ± 1.36) 69.9% | Schizophrenia | ICD-10 | BMI did not differ between patients on first psychotic episode without antipsychotic treatment and controls (matched for sex, age, and parental education level). |
| Shapiro [59] | 2016 | 118 (16.0 ± 1.5) 62% | Bipolar disorder | KSADS-PL | Adolescents with bipolar disorder reported significantly higher obesity (18%) than controls (p = 0.02). Among those with psychiatric diagnosis, obesity was significantly associated with suicide attempt and self-injurious behavioral patterns. Antidepressants were associated with obesity, but only when medication did not involve selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. |
| Lim [60] | 2015 | 199 (7–12) NA | Anxiety | CBCL | Children in the Obesity + Clinical Anxiety group reported more body dissatisfaction (p = 0.023) and lower total HRQOL (p = 0.005) than the control group. |
| Roberts [61] | 2016 | 3134 (11–17) 48.8% | Anxiety | DSM-IV | Significant association of anxiety with obesity. Any anxiety disorder was associated with a 46% increased possibility to be obese. |
| Lankinen [62] | 2017 | 2275 (15.6 ± 0.4) 48.9% | Depression, conduct disorder, social anxiety | BDI, SPIN, YSR | Perceived weight status was correlated with higher risk of self-reported depression in girls (p < 0.001) and boys (p = 0.001). Significant association was also found for social phobia (p = 0.05) in boys. |
| Thompson [63] | 2012 | 230 (<17) 44.5% | Social anxiety | SAS | Social anxiety was significantly and positively correlated with BMI. Extremely obese participants scored significantly higher in the social anxiety scale than obese. |
| Rojo [64] | 2021 | 200 (10.34 ± 1.31) 60% | Psychological stress events, psychiatric diagnoses | DSM-5 clinical interviews | Obese children presented a psychiatric disorder more often than overweight or normal-weight children. A predictive model revealed that a psychiatric diagnosis increased the risk of weight gain by 26. |
ABBREVIATIONS: NA = Not applicable; SD = Standard Deviation; CIDI = World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview; CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale; SMFQ = Short Moods and Feelings Questionnaire; ICD-10 = International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision; SCA-D = Schedule for Children and Adolescents-Diagnostic Version; KSADS-PL = Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children, Present and Lifetime version; BDI = Beck Depression Inventory; BMI = Body Mass Index; SPIN = Social Phobia Inventory; YSR = Youth Self Report; SDQ = Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; LSAS = Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale; CBCL = Anxiety Problems scale from the Child Behavior Checklist; STAIC = State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; CDI = Children’s Depression Inventory.