Mindfulness Is Associated with the Metabolic Syndrome among Individuals with a Depressive Symptomatology

Erika Guyot,Julia Baudry,Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot,Sandrine Péneau,Pilar Galan,Serge Hercberg

doi:10.3390/nu10020232

Erika Guyot, Julia Baudry + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10020232

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Abstract

The Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a major public health burden. Dispositional mindfulness has recently been associated with eating disorders, being overweight, and could therefore be associated with the MetS. We aimed to examine in a cross-sectional design the relationship between mindfulness, the MetS, and its risk factors in a large sample of the adult general population and the influence of depressive symptomatology on this association. Adults participating in the NutriNet-Santé study who had completed the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire and attended a clinical and biological examination were available for inclusion. Multivariable logistic regression models adjusted for socio-demographic and lifestyle factors were performed. A total of 17,490 individuals were included. Among individuals with a depressive symptomatology, those with higher mindfulness were less likely to have a MetS (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.57–0.93), a high waist circumference, a low HDL-cholesterol level and an elevated fasting blood glucose level (all p <0.05). In those without depressive symptomatology, individuals with higher mindfulness were less likely to have a high waist circumference (p <0.01). In conclusion, higher mindfulness was associated with lower odds of developing a MetS only among individuals with a depressive symptomatology.

Highlights

The Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a combination of risk factors (abdominal obesity, high triglyceride level, low high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level, high blood pressure and high fasting glucose level), where three abnormal findings out of five, qualify a person for this condition [1].Individuals with MetS exhibit higher risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases [2], which are major public health burdens [3]
Of the 19,490 adults who attended the clinical examination and without missing data to assess the presence of the MetS, 17,490 individuals completed the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and were included in the present analysis (Figure 1)
We found that dispositional mindfulness was inversely associated with waist circumference among all participants

Summary

Introduction

The Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is a combination of risk factors (abdominal obesity, high triglyceride level, low high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level, high blood pressure and high fasting glucose level), where three abnormal findings out of five, qualify a person for this condition [1]. Individuals with MetS exhibit higher risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases [2], which are major public health burdens [3]. Given the association between smoking [5], sedentary behavior [6], eating behavior [7] and the MetS, many MetS prevention programs have been based on the implementation of actions targeting these modifiable risk factors. Specific psychological characteristics have been shown to be associated with the MetS.

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