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Depressive symptoms, body composition and bone mass in young adults: a prospective cohort study

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Abstract

Background:

An association between depression and obesity is well recognised, but longitudinal studies of depressive symptoms in adolescents as a predictor of body composition are lacking.

Objective:

We examined depressive symptoms at age 14, 17 and 20 years as predictors of lean, fat and bone mass at age 20 years in a birth cohort.

Subjects/Methods:

In 1161 participants (569 females) in the Western Australia Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study, depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory for Youth at age 14 and 17 years, and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale 21 at age 20 years. Participants were further classified into two trajectories using latent class analysis: no/transient and persistent/recurrent depression. At age 20 years, lean body mass (LBM), fat body mass (FBM) and total body bone mass were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Results:

In females, accounting for age and lifestyle factors, depression scores at age 14 and 20 years were positively associated with body weight, body mass index (BMI), FBM and % FBM (r=0.110–0.184, P<0.05) but negatively correlated with % LBM (r=−0.120, P<0.05) at age 20 years. Females in the persistent/recurrent depression trajectory (n=99) had significantly higher body weight (+5.1 kg), BMI (+1.8 kg m−2), FBM (+3.9 kg) and % FBM (+2.2%) and significantly lower % LBM (−2.2%) at age 20 years than those with no/transient depression (n=470; all P<0.05). In males, depression scores at age 17 and 20 years were negatively associated with LBM but not weight or BMI, and depression trajectory was not a predictor of body composition at age 20 years. Depression scores and trajectories did not predict bone mass in either males or females.

Conclusions:

Depressive symptoms and persistent/recurrent depression in adolescence are predictors of greater adiposity at age 20 years in females, but not males, but do not predict bone mass in either gender.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the efforts of the Raine Study participants and the Raine Study team for study co-ordination and data collection. Core funding for the Raine Study is provided by The University of Western Australia (UWA), Telethon Kids Institute, Raine Medical Research Foundation, UWA Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, Women’s and Infant’s Research Foundation, Curtin University and Edith Cowan University. The 20-year cohort follow-up assessment was funded by project grants from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and funding from the Lions Eye Institute, Nedlands, Western Australia. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funded the DXA data collection (CIHR, Lye et al, MOP-82893).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia

    K Zhu & J P Walsh

  2. School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia

    K Zhu & J P Walsh

  3. The Eating Disorders Service, Maudsley Hospital, London, UK

    K Allen

  4. Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK

    K Allen

  5. School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia

    K Allen

  6. School of Population Health, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia

    J Mountain

  7. Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    S Lye

  8. School of Women's and Infants' Health, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia

    C Pennell

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  1. K Zhu
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Correspondence to K Zhu.

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Zhu, K., Allen, K., Mountain, J. et al. Depressive symptoms, body composition and bone mass in young adults: a prospective cohort study. Int J Obes 41, 576–581 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2016.214

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