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The following is a summary of “Association between Weight-Adjusted Waist Index and Depression in NAFLD: the modulating roles of sex and BMI,” published in the November 2024 issue of Psychiatry by Zhang et al.
Weight-Adjusted Waist Index (WWI) is a new obesity marker linked to body composition. Its connection with depression in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is not well understood.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to examine the link between WWI and depression in NAFLD.
They included adult participants with NAFLD from NHANES 2017–2020. They calculated WWI as waist circumference (cm) divided by the square root of body weight (kg). They diagnosed NAFLD using vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) with controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) over 248 dB/m. They assessed depression using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), with scores ≥ 10 indicating major depression.
The results showed a positive association between WWI and depression in NAFLD (OR = 1.725, 95% CI: 1.442–2.063, P < 0.00001), stronger in men and lean/normal weight patients. Adjusting for BMI did not change this (OR = 1.643, 95% CI: 1.357–1.989, P < 0.00001), while BMI’s link to depression disappeared after adjusting for WWI.
They found that WWI was positively associated with depression in NAFLD, independent of BMI. These results suggested that WWI could be a novel indicator for depression in NAFLD.
Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-024-06308-8#Abs1
