Independent and joint associations of chronotype and social jetlag with depressive symptoms in adults with overweight and obesity: Evidence from NHANES (2017–2023)

Among 5,816 adults with overweight or obesity, evening chronotypes had higher depression scores compared to morning types.

• Evening chronotypes are associated with increased depression scores and higher odds of depression.
• Moderate and high social jetlag correlate with lower depression scores and reduced odds of depression compared to low social jetlag.
• Joint analyses indicate that individuals with neutral and evening chronotypes experiencing moderate social jetlag have lower odds of depressive symptoms.
• The protective effects of moderate social jetlag against depression vary between weekday and weekend chronotypes.
• Sleep schedule flexibility, potentially reflecting weekend catch-up sleep, may reduce depression risk, particularly for evening chronotypes.

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