Perceived stress and coping strategies in relation to body mass index: cross-sectional study of 12,045 Japanese men and women.

BACKGROUND

Accumulated evidence suggests a weak positive relationship between psychosocial stress and body mass index (BMI), but little is known about stress coping strategies and BMI.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to examine if perceived stress and coping strategies are related to BMI, with any of their mutual interactions on BMI.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 5,063 men and 6,982 women aged 40-69 years. A self-administered questionnaire ascertained perceived stress and 5 items of coping strategies (emotion expression, emotional support seeking, positive reappraisal, problem solving, and disengagement). Analyses were performed by gender with adjustment for age, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle factors.

RESULTS

No significant associations were detected between perceived stress and BMI in either men (P(trend) = 0.09) or women (P(trend) = 0.58). In men, however, 'disengagement' showed an inverse association with BMI (P(trend) < 0.001), and 'positive reappraisal' and 'problem solving' revealed a positive association with BMI (P(trend) = 0.04 and 0.007, respectively) even after controlling for perceived stress. A possible interaction between perceived stress and 'disengagement' on BMI was found in men (P(interaction) = 0.027); the inverse association between 'disengagement' and BMI was more evident in higher levels of stress (β = -0.13, P(trend) = 0.21 in low; β = -0.22, P(trend) = 0.01 in medium; and β = -0.24, P(trend) = 0.06 in high). In men, 'disengagement' was inversely associated with overweight/obesity (odds ratio 0.79, 95% confidential interval 0.67-0.95), and "positive reappraisal" was positively associated with it (1.25, 1.02-1.54).

CONCLUSIONS

Coping strategies may have an important role in developing overweight/obesity, particularly in men.