Psychiatric ill health and distribution of body fat mass among female immigrants in Sweden

Given the association between psychiatric factors and obesity, the aims of the present study were to identify these variables among native Swedish as well as immigrant women, and to compare the prevalence of psychiatric ill health in women of foreign ethnicity with Swedish women. Information on melancholia, life satisfaction, sleeping problems, and use of psychoactive drugs as well as alcohol and smoking habits was obtained from questionnaires in a randomly selected population (n=1464, participation rate 78%, aged 40 y). Height, body weight and circumferences of waist and hip were self-measured, so allowing calculations of the body mass index (BMI) and the waist to hip ratio (WHR) to be made. Among those who responded 246 (21.9%) were immigrants, divided into the following demographic clusters Nordic countries; Rest of Europe; and Non-European. Among native Swedes, use of psychoactive drugs and melancholy were associated with both BMI and WHR. BMI-associated with use of antidepressants in women from Nordic countries with a short duration of stay, and in subjects with a long duration of residence, was related to life satisfaction. Among subjects from the Rest of Europe, the use of hypnotics was negatively related to BMI, and life satisfaction was positively associated with WHR. Among Non-Europeans with a long duration of residence, BMI was positively connected to the use of anxiolytics and, negatively, to life satisfaction. Furthermore, melancholy was positively associated with WHR (borderline, P=0.086) in Non-Europeans. Subjects from Nordic countries were characterised by a relatively low use of psychoactive drugs and infrequent insomnia. In contrast, subjects from the Rest of Europe with short duration of stay showed a relatively extensive use of psychoactive drugs, and the Non-European group with short duration of stay experienced frequent insomnia, and a low degree of life satisfaction as well as high degree of melancholy. The association between psychiatric factors and obesity is not uniform across ethnic groups, suggesting a combination of genetic predisposition and psychosocial vulnerability. The high prevalence of psychiatric ill health among some ethnic groups should be a matter of public health concern. Public Health (2000) 114, 45–51.