Obesity Prevalence and Associated Factors Among Users of Specialized Community Mental Health Services: An Observational Study.
Thaiane Bruna da Cruz Diomedece, Bruno da Silva Marinho, Ana Laura Salomé Lourencetti and 4 others
PMID 42272070WHAT IT FOUND
32.1% of 358 adults using specialized mental health services in Brazil had obesity and 65.6% had increased waist-circumference risk.
Obesity was more common among women, people identifying as Black, and those with hypertension. 9.2% had never had a health professional measure weight and height.
Key findings
01Among 358 adults using specialized mental health services, 32.1% met obesity criteria and 65.6% had waist circumference values indicating increased metabolic risk.
02Adjusted prevalence ratios showed higher obesity prevalence among women (1.08), Black participants (1.12), and participants with hypertension (1.14), and lower prevalence among smokers (0.84) and participants attending substance-use services (0.90).
0359.5% reported having weight and height measured by a health professional within the previous month, while 9.2% reported never having been measured.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it could show associations but not whether any factor caused obesity. It was done in one municipality in São Paulo state, so the results may not apply to other regions or health systems. Dietary intake and medication use, especially antipsychotics, were not measured, so important contributors to weight gain may be missing. Some information, including smoking and physical activity, came from questionnaires and may be affected by reporting bias. Participants under 18 and people with intellectual disability were excluded, so the study does not describe those groups. Anthropometric monitoring was self-reported, so it may not reflect service records.
Declared interests
The work was funded by FAPESP and CAPES. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the lower obesity prevalence among smokers (adjusted prevalence ratio 0.84) as evidence that smoking protects against obesity. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show cause, and the paper notes that smoking has harmful health effects.