title: The Association of Parental/Caregiver Chronic Stress with Youth Obesity: Findings from the Study of Latino Youth and the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Prior studies indicate that chronic stress is associated with obesity in adults. However, whether parental/caregiver stress is associated with obesity in their offspring has not been widely examined in Hispanic/Latino populations. In this study, we evaluated the role of caregiver chronic stress on child obesity and whether home food environment or child lifestyle behaviors explained the association.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included a sample of Hispanic/Latino youth and their caregivers (n = 473) from the Study of Latinos (SOL) Youth study and the Hispanic Community Health Study/SOL Sociocultural Study, which enrolled children aged 8-16 years from four cities (Bronx, Chicago, Miami, and San Diego), and provided assessments of adult chronic stress. Poisson regression models were used to assess the association between parental/caregiver stress and child obesity, adjusting for potential confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-two percent of caregivers did not report any chronic stressors, 48% reported 1-2, and 29% reported ≥3 stressors. The prevalence of obesity in youth increased with number of caregiver stressors from 23% among those without caregiver stressors to 35% among those with ≥3 stressors (p for trend 0.03). After model adjustment, youths whose caregivers reported ≥3 stressors were more likely to be obese than youths whose caregivers reported no stressors (prevalence ratio = 1.53; 95% confidence interval 1.01-2.32). This association was independent of food home environment, child diet quality, and child physical activity, but it was not independent of caregiver obesity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that parental/caregiver chronic stress is related to obesity in their children. Future research is needed to confirm this association in longitudinal studies and in other population groups.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine , Bronx, NY.
authors.forename: Carmen R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Isasi
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine , Bronx, NY.
authors.forename: Simin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hua
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Epidemiology and the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health , Baltimore, MD.
authors.forename: Molly
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University , Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Mercedes R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Carnethon
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Public Policy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, NC.
authors.forename: Krista
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Perreira
authors.affiliation: 5 Department of Psychology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine , Miami, FL.
authors.forename: Denise C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Vidot
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine , Bronx, NY.
authors.forename: Christian R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Salazar
authors.affiliation: 6 SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego State University , San Diego, CA.
authors.forename: Jessica L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: McCurley
authors.affiliation: 7 Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, NC.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sotres-Alvarez
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University , Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Van Horn
authors.affiliation: 8 Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine , Miami, FL.
authors.forename: Alan M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Delamater
authors.affiliation: 5 Department of Psychology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine , Miami, FL.
authors.forename: Maria M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Llabre
authors.affiliation: 9 Department of Psychology, San Diego State University , Chula Vista, CA.
authors.forename: Linda C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Gallo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011203:Poverty; D011634:Public Health; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: caregiver stress; home environment; obesity; youth