Adiposity, Depression Symptoms and Inflammation in Hispanic/Latino Youth: Results From HCHS/SOL Youth

Selena T Nguyen-Rodriguez; Linda C Gallo; Carmen R Isasi; Orfeu M Buxton; KaMala S Thomas; Daniela Sotres-Alvarez; Susan Redline; Sheila F Castañeda; Mercedes R Carnethon; Martha L Daviglus; Krista M Perreira

doi:10.1093/abm/kaz070

Adiposity, Depression Symptoms and Inflammation in Hispanic/Latino Youth: Results From HCHS/SOL Youth

Ann Behav Med. 2020 Jun 12;54(7):529-534. doi: 10.1093/abm/kaz070.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Science, California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA.
² Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA.
³ Department of Epidemiology & Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
⁴ Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
⁵ Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁶ Orange County Health Psychologists, Inc., Irvine, CA, USA.
⁷ Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
⁸ Departments of Medicine and Neurology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁹ Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
¹⁰ Departments of Preventive Medicine and Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
¹¹ Department of Social Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

Abstract

Background: Inflammation is implicated as one of many factors related to the development of chronic disease; thus, identifying its modifiable risk factors offers potential intervention targets to reduce risk.

Purpose: To investigate whether depression and anxiety symptoms may indirectly affect high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) through sleep duration and adiposity (i.e., percentage body fat and waist circumference).

Methods: Multiple regression analyses were performed on Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Youth (ages 8-16 years) cross-sectional baseline data, which were weighted to adjust for sampling design. Data were collected at a clinical assessment, including fasting blood samples, self-report surveys, and objectively measured anthropometrics.

Results: Adjusting for sociodemographic covariates, depression symptoms were associated with log hs-CRP (β = .011, p = .047) but not PAI-1 (p = .285). Percentage body fat and waist circumference were positively related to depression symptoms (p = .026 and p = .028, respectively) and log hs-CRP (p < .001 for both). When including adiposity in the hs-CRP model, the associations of depression symptoms with hs-CRP were attenuated and became nonsignificant. Monte Carlo confidence intervals (CIs) showed that the indirect effects from depression symptoms to CRP through percentage body fat (95% CI: .0006, .0119) and waist circumference (95% CI: .0004, .0109) were statistically significant.

Conclusions: Results indicate that the association between psychological distress and inflammation may occur indirectly through adiposity in Hispanic/Latino children. If findings are replicated in causal designs, reducing depression symptoms and adiposity among Hispanic/Latino children may be avenues for primary prevention of inflammation in later years.

Keywords: Adiposity; Depression Symptoms; Hispanic/Latino Youth; Indirect Effects; Inflammation.

Publication types

Multicenter Study
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Adiposity*
Adolescent
Biomarkers / blood
C-Reactive Protein / metabolism*
Child
Cohort Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression / psychology*
Female
Hispanic or Latino
Humans
Inflammation / psychology*
Male
Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 / metabolism*
Risk Factors
Sleep*
United States

Substances

Biomarkers
Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1
C-Reactive Protein

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding