(P19-019-23) Associations Between Modifiable Lifestyle Behaviors and Depressive Symptoms in Emerging Hispanic Adults

Objectives: Depressive symptoms are particularly common in Hispanic young adults transitioning from adolescence and developing their lifestyle habits. This transition may compound their future disproportionate risk of suffering from multiple chronic conditions such as metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and modifiable risk factors in emerging Hispanic adults living in Miami, FL.

Methods: After obtaining informed consent, a cross-sectional survey gathered demographic information, medical history, depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Survey (CES-D), physical activity using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and sleep behaviors using the Pittsburgh Quality Sleep Index. Diet quality was assessed with 3 24-hour recalls to calculate a Healthy Eating Index 2015 score (HEI15) and body composition was measured with an InBody machine. Descriptive statistics were used along with T-test, Pearson correlation and linear regression to determine the relationship between modifiable risk factors and depressive symptoms.

Results: The mean age was 20.6 ± 1.8 years. Out of 53 participants, the majority (58.5%) demonstrated a CES-D score greater than 16, indicating risk for clinical depression. Higher CES-D score was correlated with reduced sleep (r=0.458, p=0.001) and diet quality (r=-0.269, p=0.052) and higher body fat percentage (r=0.273, p=0.048). HEI15 component scores revealed that a higher CES-D score was correlated with lower whole grain (r=-.304, p=0.027), dairy (r-.272, p=0.049), and protein intake (r=-.291, p=0.034). Sleep quality was found to significantly predict CESD score (β=0.430, SE=0.430, p=0.006); this relationship remained significant after age, sex, race, BMI, education level, stress, and socioeconomic status were included in the model.

Conclusions: These trends warrant further examination of the modifiable lifestyle behaviors that may be negatively influenced by depressive symptoms and aggregate multimorbidity risk in this population. As the largest minority group in the U.S, determining how several behaviors may be mechanistically related would allow for culturally sensitive strategies to mitigate chronic disease risk.

Funding Sources: No funding received