Association between Obesity and Mental Disorders Over Different Levels of Income; A BRFSS Data Analysis
Rebecca Schroyer, Emily Stoffel, Rebecca Vardaman, and Brandon Kistler
ABSTRACT
In the United States, obesity and mental health diagnoses
are on the rise, with one third of the population diagnosed
as obese and 1 in 5 suffering from a mental health disorder.
Obesity has been linked to mental health through income
and other lifestyle factors. Objective: Therefore, the
purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship
between Body Mass Index (BMI) and mental health
disorder across different levels of income. Methods: The
data analyzed in this study was collected from the 2015
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
which includes adults in the United States over the age of
18. The Web Enabled Analyses Tool (WEAT) was used to
perform a crosstabulation test with statistical significance
set at p <0.008 to account for multiple comparisons.
Results: The data showed a significant association between
BMI and mental disorder diagnoses (2 = 695.0, p<0.0001)
with the highest prevalence of mental health disorders
among the highest BMI category. When we looked at this
relationship across levels of income, BMI and mental health
diagnoses remained related over all income levels
(p<0.0001 for all). Implications: In conclusion, the data
indicates that there is an association between BMI and
diagnosis of a mental disorder across all income levels.
Future research may be warranted to better understand the
relationship between BMI and mental health.
AIM
To determine if there is an association between BMI and
depressive disorders.
Hypothesis: To determine if the relationship between BMI
and depressive disorders are consistent across all levels of
BMI.
METHODS
Study Type: Survey
Data Set: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
(BRFSS) 2015
Participants: 341,893 total records, males and females >
18 years old
Statistical Analysis: Cross Tabulation, statistical
significance set at p<0.05
Department of Health Science, Ball State University, Muncie, IN
RESULTS
Figure 1: Relationship between BMI and depressive disorders in the
income category of <$15,000. (Chi square: 100.25, P<0.0001)
Figure 3: Relationship between BMI and depressive disorders in the
income category of $25,000-35,000. (Chi square: 51.72 , P<0.0001)
Figure 5: Relationship between BMI and depressive disorders in the
income category of >$50,000. (Chi square: 220.13, P<0.0001)
DISCUSSION
Of those surveyed, there is a significant association
found between BMI status and mental health diagnosis.
The relationship was observed over all income levels.
Screening and evaluation of obese and overweight
patients must be set to evaluate mental status of patients.
IMPLICATIONS
Screening and evaluation of obese and overweight
patients must be set to evaluate mental status of patients.
Clinicians may consider screening obese individuals for
depressive disorders and making appropriate referrals if
necessary.
Figure 2: Relationship between BMI and depressive disorders in the
income category of $15,000-25,000. (Chi square: 124.63, P<0.0001)
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Figure 6: Relationship between BMI and depressive disorders in all final.pdf
income levels. (Chi square: 695.00, P<0.0001)