| Popis: |
Introduction Fatigue, depression, anxiety and pain influence each other. The burden of comorbidity is high in patients on long-term sick leave. Overweight/obesity are one of the most common co-existing factors and are often found with mood disorders. Previous studies have showed how comorbidities affect the total disease burden and the success of treatment. Therefore, they are important to identify for optimal care. Aim To study the association between body weight and psychiatric comorbidities in a highly selected group of patients on long-term sick leave for chronic pain or exhaustion disorder. Methods Data from 153 patients currently on long-term sick leave for chronic pain (n=77) or exhaustion disorder (n=76) were collected from a primary care facility. Information regarding main diagnosis, weight class and psychiatric comorbidities were dichotomized and analyzed in cross tables. Results Of 153 patients, 48 had normal weight, 55 had overweight and 50 patients had obesity. 63 % had a psychiatric comorbidity. The rate of psychiatric comorbidity was almost equal between the overweight/obese compared to normal weight, 63% vs. 67% (p=0.6). No significant association could be seen in the subgroup analyses for chronic pain or exhaustion disorder either (p=0.5, p=0.6). Conclusions No association between psychiatric comorbidities and overweight/obesity could be found in this group of patients on long-term sick leave. Factors affecting our results could be the high burden of both psychiatric diagnoses and overweight/obesity in this group of multimorbid patients. Regardless, it shows the importance of screening and prevention of relevant comorbidities in patients at risk. |
