PRESS RELEASE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBESITY
(www.nature.com/ijo)
This press release is copyrighted to the International Journal of Obesity.
EMBARGOED PDF COPIES OF THESE PAPERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON THE ACADEMIC JOURNALS SECTION OF: <http://press.nature.com>
Childhood depression linked to asthma and obesity
DOI: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0803215
Childhood depression is linked to adult onset of asthma and obesity,
according to a study published online this week by International Journal of
Obesity. Gregor Hasler and colleagues carried out a longitudinal analysis on
4,547 subjects at 6 points over 25 years starting in 1978. Previous studies
have shown a correlation between childhood obesity and adult asthma but here the authors show for the first time an additional link to depression
alongside the other conditions.
The authors investigated how many of the participants suffered from
childhood depression and compared this with those who later became obese or developed asthma. Using data from a prospective community study collected
over a 20-year period they were able to explore the role played by
depressive symptoms in asthma-body weight associations.
The study concludes that depressive symptoms during childhood are associated with adult obesity and asthma. This not only aids understanding for certain parts of the pathology of obesity and asthma, it also hints that the
neurobiology of depression is different at the time of childhood and
adolescence, when compared to adulthood. However the researchers argue that further research into the mechanisms and psychosocial factors is required.
Author contact:
Gregor Hasler, MD (University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland)
Tel: +41 44 255 52 80, E-mail: [email protected]
PRESS CONTACTS...
For media inquiries relating to editorial content/policy for the
International Journal of Obesity:
James Ashton (Assistant Editor - Academic Journals, Nature Publishing Group,
London, UK)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4889; E-mail: [email protected]
For media inquiries relating to embargo policy for the International Journal
of Obesity:
Ruth Francis (Nature London)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4562; E-mail: [email protected]
Victoria Picknell (Nature London)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4502; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Publishing Group (NPG) is a division of Macmillan Publishers Ltd,
dedicated to serving the academic and professional scientific community.
NPG's flagship title, Nature, is the world's most highly-cited weekly
multidisciplinary journal and was first published in 1869. Other
publications include Nature research journals, Nature Reviews, Nature
Clinical Practice, and a range of prestigious academic journals, including
society-owned publications.
NPG is a global company, with headquarters in London and offices in New
York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston, Tokyo, Paris, Munich and
Basingstoke. For more information, please go to www.nature.com
