Psychosocial stress with subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissues in African American Adults: The Jackson Heart Study

It has been hypothesized that stress may be related to cardiovascular risk through its effect on obesity. Recent evidence suggests that cardiovascular risk conferred by obesity is more strongly related to fat distribution than to total fat. However associations of stress with fat distributions have been rarely investigated. African Americans are disproportionately burdened by obesity and may also be subject to high levels of stress. Objectives: To examine associations of the Global Perceived Stress (GPS) with subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) in a large African American sample (AAs), Methods: Data were obtained from 4203 participants of the Jackson Heart Study in Exam 2 (2005-2008). GPS, an 8-item questionnaire was used to assess stress. SAT and VAT were measured by imaging the abdomen by a GE multi-detector computerized tomography scanner and analyzed using IDL Version 6.3 software. The analytic sample (n= 2830), obtained after excluding missing SAT, VAT and GPS data, had a mean (SD) age of 60 (11) years and 64.8% were women. Sex-stratified linear regression modelling was performed. Results: For men; but not women, GPS was significantly and positively related to VAT (β=40.0; p=0.0149) and VAT/SAT ratio (β =0.247; p=0.0446) after adjustment for age, socioeconomic factors, marital status, dietary patterns, smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity; and menopause status and hormone use for women only. There were no significant association between stress and SAT for both men and women. Conclusion: There was a significant effect of perceived stress on fat distribution among AA men but not women.