The correlation between body weight, serotonin levels, mental health status, sleep disorders and metabolism in patients with obesity

Background. The significant spread of obesity stimulates researchers to search for etiopathogenic treatment by studying the relationships and dependencies of the hormonal, neurochemical and psychosomatic components. The purpose of the study is to determine the correlation between body weight, serotonin level, mental health status, sleep disorders and metabolism in obese patients. Materials and methods. In a cohort, prospective study, 75 patients with obesity were observed for 6 months. They were divided into 2 groups depending on the detected psychosocial characteristics and sleep disorders with the appropriate treatment using a patient-oriented approach. The examination included studying body mass index (BMI), abdominal obesity indices (body surface area, waist/hip ratio, conicity index, a body shape index, abdominal volume index), blood pressure, lipid profile, fasting glucose, insulin, leptin, serotonin, assessment of psychosocial status and sleep quality with Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), quality of life using the SF-36 questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics, Statistica 12, Excel 2010. Results. At baseline, the patients had obesity class I and II. Тhe calculated indices of abdominal obesity, indicators of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, scores of questionnaires of eating behavior, anxiety and depression, quality of sleep, sleepiness and leptin level exceeded the recommended values, while the level of serotonin, the scores of the SF-36 had low values that significantly improved in dynamics. Strong direct correlations at baseline were found between BMI, abdominal obesity indices, blood pressure, indicators of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, leptin, HADS, BDI, HAM-A, ESS, PSQI global score; a strong inverse (negative) relationship was noted between BMI and the levels of high-density lipoprotein and serotonin. A high negative correlation was found between serotonin and BMI, abdominal obesity indices (body surface area, a body shape index, abdominal volume index, conicity index), blood pressure, indicators of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, HADS, HAM-A, BDI, PSQI global score, sleep quality, latency, duration, efficiency and the ESS. Conclusions. The high BMI correlates with a low level of serotonin, increased level of anxiety and depression, drowsiness, deterioration of the quality of sleep and life, disorders of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, which are mutually aggravating factors for the development of obesity and other non-infectious diseases; it must be taken into account when determining approaches to comprehensive patient-oriented treatment of obesity.