Prevalence of depression and anxiety and their association with body mass index among high school students in Qazvin, Iran, 2013-2014

Evidence shows that mental disorders among adolescents are associated with suicide, drug abuse, acute infectious diseases and low educational performances. To determine the prevalence of depression and anxiety and their associations with body mass index (BMI) among high school students in Qazvin, Iran in 2013-2014. A descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study using cluster-sampling method recruited 1,040 students among high schools in Qazvin, Iran from March 2013 to April 2014. Data were collected using questionnaires including demographic, Beck depression inventory and Beck anxiety inventory, and were analyzed with SPSS-19 by descriptive analyses, t-test, Chi-square and Pearson correlation. The prevalence of depression and anxiety was 31.8% and 14.9%, respectively and these amounts were significantly higher in girls than in boys (p