title: Effect of short-term weight loss on mental stress-induced cardiovascular and pro-inflammatory responses in women.
abstract: Epidemiologic evidence links psychosocial stress with obesity but experimental studies examining the mechanisms that mediates the effect of stress on adiposity are scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate whether changes in adiposity following minimal weight loss affect heightened stress responses in women, and examine the role of the adipokine leptin in driving inflammatory responses. Twenty-three overweight or obese, but otherwise healthy, women (M age = 30.41 ± 8.0 years; BMI = 31.9 ± 4.1 kg/m(2)) completed standardized acute mental stress before and after a 9-week calorie restriction program designed to modify adiposity levels. Cardiovascular (blood pressure and heart rate) and inflammatory cytokines (leptin and interleukin-6; IL-6) responses to mental stress were assessed several times between baseline and a 45-min post-stress recovery period. There were modest changes in adiposity measures while the adipokine leptin was markedly reduced (-27%) after the intervention. Blood pressure reactivity was attenuated (-3.38 ± 1.39 mmHg) and heart rate recovery was improved (2.07 ± 0.96 Bpm) after weight loss. Blood pressure responses were inversely associated with changes in waist to hip ratio post intervention. Decreased levels of circulating leptin following weight loss were inversely associated with the IL-6 inflammatory response to stress (r = -0.47). We offered preliminary evidence suggesting that modest changes in adiposity following a brief caloric restriction program may yield beneficial effect on cardiovascular stress responses. In addition, reductions in basal leptin activity might be important in blunting pro-inflammatory responses. Large randomized trials of the effect of adiposity on autonomic responses are thus warranted.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology , F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences , Bethesda , MD , USA .|b Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (Psychobiology Group) , and.
authors.forename: Romano
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Endrighi
authors.affiliation: b Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (Psychobiology Group) , and.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamer
authors.affiliation: b Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (Psychobiology Group) , and.
authors.forename: Ruth A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hackett
authors.affiliation: b Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (Psychobiology Group) , and.
authors.forename: Livia A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: c Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (Health Behavior Research Center) , Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, University College London , London , UK.
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: c Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (Health Behavior Research Center) , Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, University College London , London , UK.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wardle
authors.affiliation: b Department of Epidemiology and Public Health (Psychobiology Group) , and.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Steptoe
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D031204:Caloric Restriction; D002319:Cardiovascular System; D004038:Diet, Reducing; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000276:immunology*; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D050177:Overweight / Q000097:blood / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000276:immunology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C508600:IL6 protein, human; D015850:Interleukin-6; D020738:Leptin
keywords: Adiposity; inflammation; interleukin-6; leptin; mental stress