Evaluation of cognitive performance and mental disorders in obese patients

Obesity is characterized as a serious public health problem, since it is a chronic, multifactorial disease associated with the development of several comorbidities. The pathophysiology of obesity includes alterations in peripheral tissues and also in the Central Nervous System; such as the hypothalamus, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex, which relate respectively to the center of satiety, memory and learning, and the reward system. In this context, it is necessary to seek to understand the relationship between obesity and cognitive impairment and mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression. In this way, the aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between cognitive performance and mental disorders in obese and eutrophic patients. For this, control case study was performed, which 30 obese patients (BMI> 30) and 30 eutrophic volunteers (BMI <30) were evaluated. The case group and the control group participated in the application of a socio-demographic questionnaire, three cognitive evaluation tests: Digits, Sequence of Numbers and Letters, and Wasi, which aims to measure the Intellectual Quotient and respond to an inventory of anxiety and depression. The control group was matched according to age, sex and schooling. All the results were compared and analyzed between groups. Obese patients presented a higher score in the digit tests and Wasi test. There was no statistical difference between the groups in the test sequence of numbers and letters. Patients in the obese group had higher scores on the anxiety and depression inventory scores compared to the eutrophic group. In conclusion, obesity is related to a lower performance in cognitive tests and an increase in the symptoms of anxiety and depression.