Association between weight-adjusted waist circumference index and depression in older patients with hypertension: a study based on NHANES 2007-2016.

Objective: Our aim was to assess the relationship between weight-adjusted waist circumference index (WWI) and the prevalence of depression in older adult hypertensive patients in the United States. Methods: We selected individuals from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database from 2007 to 2016 and used logistic regression analyses, subgroup analyses, and dose-response curves to assess the associations between the WWI index and the prevalence of depression in older hypertensive patients with age, sex, and BMI. Results: A total of 4,228 participants aged ≥60 years with hypertension were included in our study; 364 patients were assessed for depression. After correction for confounders, each unit increase in WWI increased the risk of depression in older hypertensive patients by 19% (OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 0.99, 1.43). Dose-response curves showed that the WWI index was positively associated with the prevalence of depression in older hypertensive patients when the WWI index was ≥11.6. Based on subgroup analyses, this association was particularly pronounced in individuals ≥70 years of age, women, and individuals with a BMI of 25 or greater. Conclusion: Higher WWI scores were positively associated with the prevalence of depression in older hypertensive patients and correlated with gender, age and BMI. This is notable, although a causal relationship cannot be established at this time.