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Early life adversity and/or posttraumatic stress disorder severity are associated with poor diet quality, including consumption of trans fatty acids, and fewer hours of resting or sleeping in a US middle-aged population: A cross-sectional and prospective study
While early life adversity (ELA) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are associated with poorer psychological and physical health, the purpose of this 2015 study was to investigate whether ELA and/or PTSD are related with nutrition, physical activity, resting and sleeping and smoking. Firstly, a sample of 151 adults (age: 45.6±3.5 y, BMI: 30.0±7.1kg/m2) underwent anthropometric measurements, as well as detailed questionnaires for dietary assessment, physical activity, resting and sleeping, smoking habits and psychosocial assessments. These outcomes were assessed again in 49 participants during the prospective follow-up visit 2.5 years later. Compared to those individuals with no/lower ELA or PTSD severity, those with more severe ELA/PTSD consumed diets poorer in quality and consumed larger quantities of trans fatty acids – although these differences were significantly attenuated null after adjusting mainly for education or income and/or race. Less hours of resting and sleeping was reported in the subjects deemed to have higher ELA severity, relative to those with less severe ELA. When ELA and PTSD were combined, an additive effect was observed on resting and sleeping (p=0.001), and both these results remained significant in the fully adjusted model. There was also evidence of greater energy intake from trans fatty acids, increased incidence of smoking more, and lower physical activity among those with higher ELA or PTSD severity. Similar trends were observed in the prospective data, although statistical significance of results was lower due to the lower number of participants. To summarize the findings, fewer hours of resting and sleeping as well as poorer diet quality were linked to ELA and/or PTSD, suggesting the underlying pathway in which metabolic abnormalities arise in people with ELA and/or PTSD. Furthermore, variation in diet quality is significantly attenuated by race and/or education and/or income, whereas differences in other lifestyle habits of individuals with and without ELA and/or PTSD, such as physical activity, are mostly explained by confounding sociodemographic variables and/or body mass index. [NPID: PTSD, trauma, ELA, early life adversity, sleep, smoking, smokers, trans fat, education, income, race, diet quality]
Year: 2015
