Associations between psychological characteristics and indicators of metabolic syndrome among Chinese adults

Current knowledge about the relationship between psychological characteristics and metabolic syndrome (MetS) components is limited in Asian populations. The purpose of this study is to investigate linkages between physiological markers of MetS and life satisfaction, hostility, and depression in Chinese adults. Secondary analyses were conducted using cross-sectional data from parents of randomly selected middle school students participating in a pilot study in Qingdao, China. Among 440 parents who consented to participate (237 women, 203 men), 368 provided valid responses in all three categories of psychological characteristics, and only those subjects were included in these analyses. General linear models and logistic regressions were run separately by gender, controlling for covariates. Among women, life satisfaction was inversely associated with triglyceride levels (p=.04), LDL-C (p<.01), risk of hypertriglyceridemia (OR[.53], p<.01), HDL-C (OR[.78], p=.03), and MetS (OR[.52], p=.03). No associations were found between life satisfaction and any psychological characteristics among men. Among women, hostility was positively associated with triglyceride level (p=.04) and risk of hypertriglyceridemia (OR[2.12], p<.05). Among men, hostility was positively associated with waist circumference (p=.04), waist-hip ratio (p<.05), and fasting plasma insulin (p<.01). Depression was not associated with any physiological measurement in either gender. These findings indicate that relationships exist between certain psychological characteristics and physiological indicators of MetS among Chinese adults, although there may be important differences between genders.