WIP 68 - The Role of Emotional Eating and Emotion Dysregulation in the Association of Adolescent Depression and Cardiovascular Disease Risk.

Poster Number: WIP 68
Publication Number: WIP 68.2393

Background: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in youth is an independent predictor of premature cardiovascular disease (CVD). Emotional eating may be one mechanism by which MDD increases CVD risk, as it has been associated with both depression symptoms and obesity. Additionally, emotion dysregulation, a risk factor for depression in youth, has been suggested as a key component of disordered eating. Unravelling the complex relations among depression, emotional eating, emotion dysregulation, and CVD risk may offer new preventive opportunities to decrease CVD risk among adolescents with MDD.

Objective: The primary objective is to examine if emotional eating is a mediator of the association between depression and CVD risk in a clinical sample of MDD adolescents. The secondary objective is to determine whether the association between depression and emotional eating is moderated by emotion dysregulation.

Design/Methods: Adolescents aged 11-18 years (n=294) with a primary mood concern were recruited following primary care referral to an outpatient psychiatry program. A semi-structured diagnostic interview confirmed depression diagnosis. Physical examination (body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure), laboratory (fasting lipid profile, glucose), and self-report data (depression, emotional eating, emotion dysregulation) were collected using standardized procedures and validated measures. A continuous measure of CVD risk will be computed using aggregated standardized scores of CVD risk factors. Data analysis will include testing a moderated-mediation model with emotional eating as a mediator of the depression-CVD risk association, and emotion dysregulation as a moderator of the depression-emotional eating association. Multiple linear regression will be used to test the direct association of depression with CVD risk, followed by the indirect effect of emotional eating on depression and CVD risk. This study was approved by the Institutional Research Ethics Board. Results will increase understanding of factors associated with adolescent MDD that may contribute to premature CVD risk.