Stress eating and sleep disturbance as mediators in the relationship between depression and obesity in low-income, minority women.
The purpose of this study was to explore potential mediators of the relationship between depression and obesity in a sample of low-income, minority women. Data were extracted from a sample of 535 women enrolled in a weight loss intervention for the prevention of type 2 diabetes. Using a non-parametric bootstrapping procedure, the potential mediation effects of stress eating and sleep disturbance on the relationship between depression and obesity were tested. Results of a single mediation model indicated that depressive symptomatology was significantly associated with obesity (β=0.800, SE=0.290, p=0.006), and that stress eating (β=0.166, 95% CI [0.046, 0.328]) and sleep disturbance (β=1.032, 95% CI [0.612, 1.427]) were significant independent mediators of this relationship. Sleep disturbance remained a significant mediator in a combined mediation model (β=1.009, 95% CI [0.653, 1.399]). Findings add to the growing literature on the psychosocial factors implicated in the link between depression and obesity, particularly among disadvantaged populations. Future longitudinal research should aim to establish causal pathways between obesity, stress eating, sleep disturbance, and depression.
Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, United States; Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States. Electronic address: jessica.yu@rutgers.edu.
Jessica
J
Yu
Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States.
Kezhen
K
Fei
Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States.
Ashley
A
Fox
Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States.
Rennie
R
Negron
Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States.
Carol
C
Horowitz
D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000517:prevention & control; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D011203:Poverty; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Depression; Mediation; Obesity; Sleep disturbance; Stress eating