Associations between psychological characteristics and indicators of metabolic syndrome among Chinese adults

Abstract

Current knowledge about the relationship between psychological characteristics and metabolic syndrome (MetS) components is limited in Asian populations. The purpose of this study is to investigate linkages between physiological markers of MetS and life satisfaction, hostility, and depression in Chinese adults. Secondary analyses were conducted using cross-sectional data from parents of randomly selected middle school students participating in a pilot study in Qingdao, China. Among 440 parents who consented to participate (237 women, 203 men), 368 provided valid responses in all three categories of psychological characteristics, and only those subjects were included in these analyses. General linear models and logistic regressions were run separately by gender, controlling for covariates. Among women, life satisfaction was inversely associated with triglyceride levels (p = .04), LDL-C (p < .01), risk of hypertriglyceridemia (OR[.53], p < .01), HDL-C (OR[.78], p = .03), and MetS (OR[.52], p = .03). No associations were found between life satisfaction and any psychological characteristics among men. Among women, hostility was positively associated with triglyceride level (p = .04) and risk of hypertriglyceridemia (OR[2.12], p < .05). Among men, hostility was positively associated with waist circumference (p = .04), waist-hip ratio (p < .05), and fasting plasma insulin (p < .01). Depression was not associated with any physiological measurement in either gender. These findings indicate that relationships exist between certain psychological characteristics and physiological indicators of MetS among Chinese adults, although there may be important differences between genders.

Keywords:

• Life satisfaction
• hostility
• depression
• metabolic syndrome

Acknowledgement

The authors thank the director and project staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Qingdao city, People’s Republic of China, for assistance with project coordination and data collection. We also thank the principals, physicians, and teachers in the participating schools for their cooperation.

Funding

This research was supported by the Claremont Graduate University/University of Southern California Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (TTURC), funded by the National Institutes of Health [grant number 2 P50 CA084735-06, Johnson C.A. as PI]; and the Sidney R. Garfield Endowment. Manuscript preparation was also partially grant-supported [grant number 1 R03 CA172985-01, Xie B. as PI].