Childhood and adolescent obesity, mental disorders and familial psychopathology

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the type and frequency of psychopathological disorders observed in obese children and adolescents. We also looked for a correlation between psychic disorders in the obese ch ildren, the degree of obesity and paternal psychopathology. Patients and methods The study group included 84 obese children and adolesc ents aged 5 to 16 to years (mean age 10.9 +/- 2.8 years). ere were 55 girls and 29 boys. The z-score expressing deviation from the ideal body mass ind ex (IMC) varied from +2 to +10.6 (mean +5.4 + 1.9). Psychopathological diso rders observed in these obese patents were compared in children and adolesc ents with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The standard diagnostic inte rview (K-SADS PL) and self-administered questionnaires (Sielberger STAIC-Tr ait for anxiety and CDI for depression in children or CBCL or GHQ for their parents) were also used to evaluate psychic disorders. Results More than half of the obese children (47 out of 84) had a DSM-IV di agnosis, often involving anxiety (n = 28). The rate of internalized and ext ernalized psychopathological disorders (measured by STAIC-Trait and CBCL) w as higher in the obese children than in the diabetics, The children's psych opathological disorders were more marked if their parents were perturbed, p articularly when their mother had an internalised disorder. No correlation was found between the degree obesity and psychopathological disorders in th e obese children and adolescents. Conclusion Our findings show the frequency of mental disorders in obese chi ldren and point out the importance of parental psychopathology. This underl ines the usefulness of a pedopsychiatric approach implicating the entire fa mily for therapeutic management of these patients.