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Published on: February 11, 2017
Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Associations Between Psychosocial Well-Being and Cardiometabolic Markers in European
Barbara F Thumann1, Claudia Börnhorst, Wolfgang Ahrens
1From the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology-BIPS (Thumann, Börnhorst, Ahrens, Rach), Bremen, Germany; Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science (Thumann, Ahrens), University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany; Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (Thumann, De Henauw, Michels), Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Section for Epidemiology and Social Medicine (EPSO), The Sahlgrenska Academy (Arvidsson), University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Copenhagen Business School (Gwozdz), Frederiksberg, Denmark; Justus Liebig University Giessen (Gwozdz), Giessen, Germany; GENUD (Growth, Exercise, NUtrition and Development) Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences (Iguacel), University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain; Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Clinical Sciences, The Queen Silvia Children's Hospital (Mårild), The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Paediatrics, Medical School (Molnár), University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary; Institute of Food Sciences, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Russo), Avellino, Italy; Research and Education Institute of Child Health (Tornaritis), Strovolos, Cyprus; and Department of Chronic Diseases (Veidebaum), National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia.
Objective:
Research examining aspects of positive mental health as potential predictors of cardiometabolic health in young populations is scarce. We investigated the associations between psychosocial well-being and waist circumference (WAIST), blood pressure (BP), the homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol considering life-style factors as mediators.
Methods:
Data of European children and adolescents participating in the baseline (2007/2008), first follow-up (FU1; 2009/2010) and second follow-up (FU2; 2013/2014) examinations of the IDEFICS/I.Family study were used (ncross-sectional = 6519; nlongitudinal = 1393). A psychosocial well-being score was calculated from 16 items on emotional well-being, self-esteem, and social relationships (0-48 points). Cardiometabolic markers were transformed to age- and sex-specific and, in case of BP, also height-specific z scores. Life-style factors included diet, physical activity, sleep, and electronic media use. Applying path analysis, we obtained unstandardized estimates of direct and indirect effects of well-being on cardiometabolic markers.
Results:
Cross-sectionally, well-being score showed a negative direct and a negative indirect effect through life-style factors on WAIST z score (estimate per 4-point increase, -0.051 [p = .001] and -0.014 [p < .001], respectively). Longitudinally, positive changes in well-being score between baseline and FU1 and between FU1 and FU2, respectively, demonstrated negative indirect effects through life-style factorsFU2 on WAIST z scoreFU2. Both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, higher levels of well-being showed lowering indirect effects on homeostasis model assessment, BP, and triglyceride z scores and an increasing indirect effect on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol z score through both life-style factors and WAIST z score.
Conclusions:
These results supported our hypothesis that a healthier life-style may be one mechanism through which higher well-being is linked with lower abdominal obesity and fewer other cardiometabolic disorders in young populations.
Trial Registration:
Pan-European IDEFICS/I.Family children cohort, ISRCTN registry number: ISRCTN62310987 (http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN62310987).
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