The double-whammy of marital hostility and a history of depression
can increase the risk for obesity in adults by altering how the body
processes high-fat foods, according to new research.
History of depression
In
the study, men and women with a history of depression whose arguments
with spouses were especially heated showed several potential metabolic
problems after eating a high-fat meal. They burned fewer calories and
had higher levels of insulin and spikes of triglycerides – a form of fat
in the blood – after eating a heavy meal when compared to participants
without these risk factors.
The reduced calorie-burning in the
seven hours after a single meal – 118 fewer calories, on average, by
previously depressed people with marital discord – translates to weight
gain of up to 12 pounds in a year. And the multiple problems add up to
the potential for metabolic syndrome – the presence of at least three of
five factors that increase the risk for heart disease and diabetes.
“These
findings not only identify how chronic stressors can lead to obesity,
but also point to how important it is to treat mood disorders.
Interventions for mental health clearly could benefit physical health as
well,” said Jan Kiecolt-Glaser, director of the Institute for
Behavioural Medicine Research at The Ohio State University and lead
author of the study.
“Our results probably underestimate the
health risks because the effects of only one meal were analysed. Most
people eat every four to five hours, and often dine with their spouses,”
said Kiecolt-Glaser, also a professor of psychiatry and psychology.
“Meals provide prime opportunities for ongoing disagreements in a
troubled marriage, so there could be a longstanding pattern of metabolic
damage stemming from hostility and depression.”
Marital stress, depression and health
Kiecolt-Glaser
announced the new findings with co-author Martha Belury, professor of
human nutrition at Ohio State, on Monday (10/20) during the New Horisons
in Science briefings at ScienceWriters2014, an annual conference hosted
this year by Ohio State.
They discussed the research as part of
their presentation “Metabolism: A new link between marital stress,
depression and health.”
The researchers recruited 43 healthy
couples, ages 24 to 61, who had been married for at least three years.
As part of the study, participants completed a range of questionnaires
that included assessments of marital satisfaction, past mood disorders
and depressive symptoms.
During the two daylong study visits, all
participants ate eggs, turkey sausage, biscuits and gravy that totaled
930 calories and 60 grams of fat. The meal was designed to mimic common
fast-food options, and matches the calories and fat in a Burger King
double whopper with cheese or a Big Mac and medium fries at McDonald’s.
Two
hours later, the couples were asked to discuss and try to resolve one
or more issues that researchers had previously judged to be most likely
to produce conflict. Common topics were money, communication and
in-laws.
Researchers left the room during these videotaped
discussions, and later categorized the interactions as psychological
abuse, distress-maintaining conversations, hostility or withdrawal.
Mood disorder history
After
the meals, participants’ energy expenditure – or calories burned by
converting food to energy – was tested for 20 minutes of every hour for
the next seven hours. Researchers obtained this data by using equipment
that measured inhaled and exhaled airflow of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Blood samples were drawn several times after the meals to measure
glucose, insulin and triglycerides and compare them to baseline levels.
Participants
with both a mood disorder history and a more hostile marriage burned an
average of 31 fewer calories per hour and had an average of 12 percent
more insulin in the blood than low-hostility participants in the first
measurement after the meal; the level didn’t match other participants’
lower levels until two hours after eating. Insulin contributes to the
storage of fat.
The peak in triglycerides in the high-hostility
and depressed participants four hours after eating exceeded all others’
levels. High levels of triglycerides are considered a risk factor for
cardiovascular disease.
“Insulin stimulates food intake and the
accumulation of fat tissue in the abdomen, and adding that on top of the
lower energy expenditure creates a higher likelihood for obesity,”
Belury said. “But it doesn’t stop there: Elevated triglycerides lead to
heart disease. Along with high insulin, elevated triglycerides indicate
metabolism of sugars and fats is impaired. These are hallmarks of
increased risk for heart disease and diabetes.”
This research was
supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute and the National
Institutes of Health, including funding of Ohio State’s Centre for
Clinical and Translational Science, home to the Clinical Research Centre
where the study visits took place.
(Co-authors on the work are
Lisa Jaremka of the University of Delaware; Rebecca Andridge and Juan
Peng of Ohio State’s College of Public Health Division of Biostatistics;
Diane Habash of Ohio State’s School of Health and Rehabilitation
Sciences; Christopher Fagundes of MD Anderson Cancer Center; and William
Malarkey and Ronald Glaser of the Institute for Behavioural Medicine
Research.)
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Health24
