[Correlational research on body fat rate and skeletal muscle rate with depression in the population of assisted reproduction].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between body fat rates and skeletal muscle rates with depression among patients undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatments.

METHODS

A total of 885 infertility patients who underwent ART treatment at the Center for Reproductive Medicine of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from July to October, 2022 were selected using the convenience sampling method. The basic information of the patients was investigated, depression was investigated using the patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and human adiposity and body skeletal muscle rate data were measured using the InBody instrument with the principle of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Multiple linear regression, generalized linear model, and trend test were used to investigate the association between adiposity, skeletal muscle mass, and depression in the assisted reproduction population, as well as the dose-response relationship using restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis.

RESULTS

The mean detection rate of depression in the ART population was 52.0%, with 55.5% in women and 45.5% in men. The average body fat rate was 28.01%, and the average body skeletal muscle rate was 39.73%. After correcting for confounders, the body fat rate was observed to be positively associated with depression (β=0.07, 95%CI: 0.01, 0.14), and the body skeletal muscle rate was negatively associated with depression (β=-0.12, 95%CI: -0.24, -0.01). Trend-based tests showed a highly significant monotonically increasing trend in depression with the increasing body fat rate and the decreasing body skeletal muscle rate. These associations were significant (P < 0.05) in the male population and in the assisted reproduction population aged >30 years. No significant non-linear associations were found between the body fat rate, the skeletal muscle rate and depression in the overall ART-treated population (Pnon-linear>0.05).

CONCLUSION

The patients undergoing ART have a higher rate of depression detection, and their body fat and skeletal muscle rates are associated with the risk of depression in ART patients. Interventions, such as weight control, body fat reduction, and an exercise diet that increases skeletal muscle and other body components are expected to reduce the incidence of depression in assisted reproduction.