Association of Social Media Recruitment and Depression Among Racially and Ethnically Diverse Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Candidates: Prospective Cohort Study

TL;DR

This study found that people recruited via social media for bariatric surgery research were more likely to have depression, especially younger individuals, and that non-Hispanic Black participants were less likely to be recruited through social media.

Contribution

The study reveals racial and age-based disparities in social media recruitment and its link to depression among bariatric surgery candidates.

Findings

Social media-recruited participants were 67% more likely to report depression than non-social media-recruited participants.

Non-Hispanic Black participants were 60% less likely to be recruited via social media compared to non-Hispanic White participants.

Younger participants with a history of depression were 2.26 times more likely to be recruited via social media.

Abstract

Due to the widespread use of social media and the internet in today’s connected world, obesity and depression rates are increasing concurrently on a global scale. This study investigated the complex dynamics involving social media recruitment for scientific research, race, ethnicity, and depression among metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) candidates.

This study aimed to determine (1) the association between social media recruitment and depression among MBS candidates and (2) racial and ethnic differences in social media recruitment engagement.

The analysis included data from 380 adult MBS candidates enrolled in a prospective cohort study from July 2019 to December 2022. Race and ethnicity, recruitment method (social media: yes or no), and depression status were evaluated using χ2 tests and logistic regression models. Age, sex, and ethnicity were adjusted in multivariable logistic regression models.

The mean age of the candidates was 47.35 (SD 11.6) years, ranging from 18 to 78 years. Participants recruited through social media (n=41, 38.32%) were more likely to report past or current episodes of depression compared to nonsocial media–recruited participants (n=74, 27.11%; P=.03), with a 67% increased likelihood of depression (odds ratio [OR] 1.67, 95% CI 1.04‐2.68, P=.03). Further analysis showed that participants with a history of depression who were below the mean sample age were 2.26 times more likely to be recruited via social media (adjusted OR [aOR] 2.26, 95% CI 1.03‐4.95; P=.04) compared to those above the mean age. Hispanic (n=26, 38.81%) and non-Hispanic White (n=53, 35.10%) participants were significantly more likely to be recruited via social media than non-Hispanic Black (n=27, 18.37%) participants (P<.001). After adjusting for covariates, non-Hispanic Black participants were 60% less likely than non-Hispanic White participants to be recruited via social media (aOR 0.40, 95% CI 0.22‐0.71; P=.002).

We found that individuals recruited through social media channels, especially younger participants, were more likely to report past or current episodes of depression compared to those recruited through nonsocial media. The study also showed that non-Hispanic Black individuals are less likely to engage in social media recruitment for scientific research versus other racial and ethnic groups. Future mental health–related studies should consider strategies to mitigate potential biases introduced by recruitment methods to ensure the validity and generalizability of research findings.