Psychiatric Comorbidity and Quality of Life in Obese Patients. Results from a Case-Control Study

Abstract

Objective:

The authors sought to evaluate psychiatric comorbidity, subjective quality of life, and impact of psychopathology on quality of life measures in a clinical sample of patients attending a center for the diagnosis and treatment of obesity compared to a matched sample of non-obese subjects.

Methods:

Two hundred ninety-three consecutive obese patients (48 males, 245 females, mean age 45.41 α 13.55 yrs; mean BMI 35.60 α 6.20) were compared with a control group made of 293 non obese subjects (48 males, 245 females, mean age 45.66 α 13.86 yrs; mean BMI 21.8 α 2.06); all subjects were interviewed by means of SCID I and SCID II and completed the WHO-QoL-Bref, a self-administered instrument for evaluation of subjective quality of life.

Results:

Obesity was associated with a significant lifetime major risk both for axis I (OR = 3.47, p = 0.000) and axis II disorders (OR = 2.27, p = 0.000); obesity was also associated with significantly lower measures of subjective quality of life on physical, social, and psychological domains; comorbidity with axis I/II disorders was associated with lower QoL measures on WHO-QoL-Bref, in particular among obese patients.

Conclusions:

Obesity is significantly associated with a significant major risk of psychiatric comorbidity and poor quality of life; comorbid mental disorders play a significant role in worsening quality of life of obese patients; a multimodal approach to the treatment of obesity, including psychiatric evaluation and intervention, is needed to improve quality of life of patients.

Keywords

obesity mental disorders quality of life comorbidity

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