Factors Associated with Symptoms of Depression among People with Obesity: Analysis of a 3-Year-Peruvian National Survey

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity and depression contribute to the global burden of economic cost, morbidity, and mortality. Nevertheless, not all people with obesity develop depression. Objective: To determine the factors associated with depressive symptoms among people aged 15 or older with obesity from the National Demographic and Family Health Survey (ENDES in Spanish 2019–2021). Methods: Cross-sectional analytical study. The outcome of interest was the presence of depressive symptoms, assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Crude (cPR) and adjusted (aPR) prevalence ratios were estimated using GLM Poisson distribution with robust variance estimates. Results: The prevalence of depression symptoms was 6.97%. In the multivariate analysis, a statistically significant association was found between depressive symptoms and female sex (PRa: 2.59; 95% CI 1.95–3.43); mountain region (PRa: 1.51; 95% CI 1.18–1.92); wealth index poor (PRa: 1.37; 95% CI 1.05–1.79, medium (PRa: 1.49; 95% CI 1.11–2.02), and rich (PRa: 1.65; 95% CI 1.21–2.26); daily tobacco use (PRa: 2.05, 95% CI 1.09–3.87); physical disability (PRa: 1.96, 95% CI 1.07–3.57); and a history of arterial hypertension (PRa: 2.05; 95% CI 1.63–2.55). Conclusion: There are several sociodemographic factors (such as being female and living in the Andean region) and individual factors (daily use of tobacco and history of hypertension) associated with depressive symptoms in Peruvian inhabitants aged 15 or older with obesity. In this study, the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase in depressive symptoms.