Recorded presentation

Faith Dickerson, PhD, MPH¹, Clayton Brown, PhD², LiJuan Fang, MS³, Julie Kreyenbuhl, PharmD, PhD⁴, Richard Goldberg, PhD⁴, Karen Wohlheiter⁵, and Lisa B. Dixon, MD, MPH⁶. (1) Sheppard Pratt Health System, 6501 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21204, 410-938-4359, dickersonf@aol.com, (2) Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 685 West Baltimore Street, MSTF Building, Suite 300, Balitmore, MD 21201, (3) Psychiatry, University of Maryland, 685 West Baltimore Street, Room 300, Baltimore, MD 21201, (4) Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 685 West Baltimore Street, MSTF Building, Suite 300, Baltimore, MD 21201, (5) Center for Mental Health Services Research, Center for Mental Health Services Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, 685 W. Baltimore Street, MSTF BLDG, Room 300, Baltimore, MD 21201, (6) Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland, 685 West Baltimore Street, MSTF, Room 300, Baltimore, MD 21201

Obesity may be more prevalent among persons with serious mental illness than in the general population but few studies have been performed using matched comparison groups. A total of 200 persons with serious mental illness was recruited from randomly selected patients receiving care at psychiatric outpatient clinics in Baltimore, MD and interviewed with items about their health from the NHANES and the SF-12. A comparison group of men and woman was drawn from the public use data files of the NHANES matched for race/ethnicity and age, within 3 years, with a 15:1 match. The mean Body Mass Index (BMI) of the psychiatric sample women and men was significantly higher that of the NHANES comparison group (31.0 vs. 27.1; 28.7 vs. 26.8, respectively). There was also a significant difference between the distribution of individuals in the BMI weight categories in the study sample women and men and the respective comparison group. Of note, 16% of the psychiatric sample women had BMIs >40 and 12% had BMIs 35-39.9. A total of 70% of the psychiatric sample women and 44% of the men reported that they had tried to lose weight in the past year, nonsignificantly greater than in the comparison groups. Within the psychiatric sample, higher BMI was associated with poorer perceived general health, physical functioning, vitality, and social functioning. Obesity is highly prevalent among persons with mental illness and poses major health risks for morbidity and mortality. Specialized interventions are needed to address obesity among persons with mental illness.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the learner will be able to

• Describe the prevalence of obesity in a sample of adults with serious mental illness
• Identify possible determinants of excess obesity in this population
• Describe the association between obesity and functional status among adults with serious mental illness

Keywords: Obesity, Mental Illness

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation