Medical Student Quinnipiac University Frank H Netter School of Medicine New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Background: Stress can affect appetite via disruptions in appetite hormones and adipokines. Stress triggered by an adverse home environment might also disrupt appetite.
Objective: To determine whether adverse home environments in childhood and adolescence relate to adiposity in adolescence and disruptions in appetite hormones and adipokines, specifically lower levels of adiponectin and ghrelin and higher levels of leptin and orexin
Design/Methods: Adversity in the home (maternal depressive symptoms, family stress, socioeconomic disadvantage) was measured in 585-593 Chilean youth at age 10 years (52.3% male), and in 515-606 youth at 16 years. At 16 years, 606 participants provided fasting blood samples for assessment of adipokines and appetite hormones. Waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) was used to assess adiposity. Correlational analyses examined associations between continuous levels of adversity in childhood and adolescence and appetite hormones and adiposity in adolescence. Multinomial logistic regressions compared hormone levels by tertiles of adversity.
Results: The hypotheses were generally supported. Frequent maternal depressive symptoms related to lower adiponectin, lower ghrelin, and higher WHtR; higher family stress was associated with lower adiponectin and higher WHtR; and greater socioeconomic disadvantage was linked with higher WHtR. Conclusion(s): Results support evidence linking household adversity to appetite hormones and adipokines, with the most consistent results for adiponectin. Further research is needed to determine whether an adverse family environment is linked to metabolic regulation and adiposity. Current findings suggest that the relationship between home environment and higher weight status may be mediated through adipokines.
Authors/Institutions: Deshna Majmudar, Frank H Netter School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States; Patricia East, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, , California, United States; Estela Blanco, UC San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States; Suzanna Martinez, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States; Raquel Burrows, University of Chile, Santiago, , Chile; Sheila Gahagan, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States
