The body mass index (BMI), suicide ideation and mood disorders in primary care

Abstract

Objective Eating disorders are serious psychiatric disorders associated with high levels of suicidality, particularly if depression is also present. Multiple studies have documented the relationship between BMI and suicide. Identification of BMI that is shared among these weight-related disorders could be one of an essential step to developing effective prevention interventions. Method 998 consecutive adult primary care patients (678 (67.9 %) women, 320 (32,1 %) men) were evaluated for psychiatric disorders, using MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview. The BMI was measured using standard procedure. Mean age of the study patients was 50.2 (range from 18 to 89) years. Results One hundred and fifty-two patients (15.2 %) had symptoms of depression, 61 (6.1 %) patients had suicidal ideation. BMI was significantly higher in patients with suicidal ideation compared to patients without suicide ideation (27.2±5.7and 24.4±4.6, p=0.004). When stratified by gender, the BMI was higher in men with suicidal ideation (29.06±3.1 vs. 24.96±3.9, p=0.005) but not in women with suicidal ideation compared to those without suicidal ideation (26.54±6.3 vs. 24.27±4.8, NS). For depressed patients the differences in BMI were insignificant compared to non-depressed patients. For the patients with depression and suicide ideation diagnosis taken together the BMI was higher in men (30.15±3.6 vs. 24.97±3.9, p=0.03) but not in women (25.3±5.7 vs. 24.26±4.8, NS. Conclusion The higher BMI had statistically significant association with the presence of suicidal ideation in primary care patients, especially in depressed men. Symptoms of depression alone had no significant difference on the higher BMI in both men and women.