Public Health Wales, Capital Quarter 2, Tyndall Street, CF10 4BZ, Cardiff, UK.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Feb 23;23(1):383. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-15293-8.
Obesity and mental health problems in children are both significant and growing public health issues. There is mixed evidence on the relationship between obesity and mental health in children. This study examines the association between obesity and mental health problems in a nationally representative sample of children using the Welsh Health Survey for Children (n = 11,279 aged 4-15 years).
The Chi-square test assessed the difference in the proportion of children reporting abnormal mental health scores (strengths and difficulties score ≥ 20) in children living with obesity (≥ 95 centile for age and sex). Then, a multivarible logistic regression was used to assess any association after accounting for confounding variables.
There were 1,582 children living with obesity in the study (19.6%). The Chi-square test indicated a significant difference in the proportion of children with abnormal mental health scores in children living with obesity (p = 0.001). This study found a very small but significant positive association between mental health and childhood obesity after accounting for confounding variables, Odds Ratio 1.02 (95%CI: 1.01 to 1.02, p = 0.001). However, socio-economic status was more of a driver.
The findings of this study show a very small but significant association between childhood obesity and mental health problems. The multivariable logistic regression indicates that the focus must remain on reducing health inequalities as this is a more important driver of child health and well-being. However, as a precautionary measure it may be worth considering if children living with obesity who present for weight-management services may benefit from a review of their mental health status to identify if further support is needed, if capacity allows, and this can be done in a supportive way.
儿童肥胖和心理健康问题都是重大且日益严重的公共卫生问题。肥胖与儿童心理健康之间的关系存在证据不一的情况。本研究使用威尔士儿童健康调查（n=11279 名 4-15 岁儿童）的全国代表性样本，研究肥胖儿童的心理健康问题。
使用卡方检验评估肥胖儿童（体重指数≥第 95 百分位数）中报告异常心理健康评分（困难总分≥20 分）的儿童比例与普通儿童的差异。然后，采用多变量逻辑回归分析，在控制混杂因素后评估任何关联。
研究中有 1582 名肥胖儿童（19.6%）。卡方检验表明，肥胖儿童中异常心理健康评分的儿童比例存在显著差异（p=0.001）。本研究发现，在控制混杂因素后，心理健康和儿童肥胖之间存在非常小但显著的正相关，优势比为 1.02（95%置信区间：1.01 至 1.02，p=0.001）。然而，社会经济地位是一个更大的驱动因素。
本研究结果表明，儿童肥胖与心理健康问题之间存在非常小但显著的关联。多变量逻辑回归表明，必须继续关注减少健康不平等，因为这是儿童健康和福祉的一个更重要驱动因素。然而，作为预防措施，可能值得考虑，如果肥胖儿童在接受体重管理服务时出现心理健康问题，是否需要对其心理健康状况进行审查，以确定是否需要进一步的支持，在能力允许的情况下，可以以支持的方式进行。
