Among adults with obesity and depression, a collaborative care intervention integrating behavioral weight loss treatment, problem-solving therapy, and as-needed antidepressant medications significantly improved weight loss and depressive symptoms at 12 months, compared with usual care, according to a recent study. The Research Aimed at Improving Both Mood and Weight (RAINBOW) randomized clinical trial enrolled 409 adults with body mass indices (BMIs) of ≥30 (≥27 for Asian adults) and 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) scores of ≥10. Researchers found:

• Among 409 participants randomized (70% were women; mean BMI of 36.7 [SD, 6.4]; mean PHQ-9 score of 13.8 [SD, 3.1]; and mean Symptom Checklist Depression Scale (SCL-20) score of 1.5 [SD, 0.5]), 344 (84.1%) completed 12-month follow-up.
• At 12 months, mean BMI declined from 36.7 (SD, 6.9) to 35.9 (SD, 7.1) among intervention participants compared with a change in mean BMI from 36.6 (SD, 5.8) to 36.6 (SD, 6.0) among usual care participants.
• Mean SCL-20 score declined from 1.5 (SD, 0.5) to 1.1 (SD, 1.0) at 12 months among intervention participants compared with a change in mean SCL-20 score from 1.5 (SD, 0.6) to 1.4 (SD, 1.3) among usual care participants.