Objective. Psychological stress affects central as well as peripheral metabolism and hormone trafficking via the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. Stress thereby plays a decisive role in the etiology and progression of overweight and obesity, leading to several chronic diseases such as diabetes, and mental health disorders. The interplay of biological and psychometric correlates of stress, anthropometric, immunological and metabolic parameters and psychosocial factors such as gender roles, however, remains poorly understood. Methods. In this exploratory study, 43 healthy women were assessed for glucose metabolism by an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and computation of functional parameters for insulin secretion, sensitivity and resistance. Further, the fatty liver index and anthropometric parameters body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), body fat and lean mass were assessed. Psychological stress assessment included the “brief symptom inventory” (BSI), the “burn-out dimensions inventory” (BODI) and perceived stress scale (PSS). Biological stress response was evaluated with heart rate variability (HRV) and cortisol levels. Finally, gender role self-identification was assessed with the “Bem sex role inventory” (BSRI). Generalized linear models were computed for exploratory association with psychometric outcome. Uncorrected p-values are reported. Results. Burn-out and perceived stress scores were associated with insulin secretion, sputum cortisol, TSH, anthropometric measures and gender role. BSI ratings for psychiatric symptom dimensions were associated with insulin resistance, sex hormones, anthropometric measures and gender role. Female self-identification was associated with higher BMI as well as body fat and a higher fatty liver index. Conclusion. Considering the increased risk of unfavorable metabolic, cardiovascular and also mental health outcome in obese women, a higher BMI in women with predominant female gender self-identification may be relevant for clinical risk assessment. The broad range of interacting biological, psychological and gender-related parameters calls for an integrative management of both mental and endocrinological health. However, the exploratory nature of the study calls for replication in larger samples before definite conclusion can be drawn.


中文翻译：

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生物和心理压力与女性的葡萄糖代谢、肥胖和性别角色有关


客观的。心理压力通过下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴影响中枢和外周代谢以及激素运输。因此，压力在超重和肥胖的病因和进展中起着决定性作用，从而导致糖尿病和精神健康障碍等多种慢性疾病。然而，压力、人体测量、免疫和代谢参数以及性别角色等心理社会因素之间的生物和心理测量相关性的相互作用仍然知之甚少。方法。在这项探索性研究中，43 名健康女性通过口服葡萄糖耐量试验 (OGTT) 评估了葡萄糖代谢，并计算了胰岛素分泌、敏感性和抵抗性的功能参数。此外，还评估了脂肪肝指数和人体测量参数体重指数（BMI）、腰臀比（WHR）、体脂和瘦体重。心理压力评估包括“简要症状量表”（BSI）、“倦怠维度量表”（BODI）和感知压力量表（PSS）。通过心率变异性（HRV）和皮质醇水平评估生物应激反应。最后，通过“Bem 性别角色调查表”（BSRI）评估性别角色自我认同。计算广义线性模型以探索与心理测量结果的关联。报告未校正的 p 值。结果。倦怠和感知压力评分与胰岛素分泌、痰皮质醇、TSH、人体测量指标和性别角色相关。 BSI 对精神症状维度的评级与胰岛素抵抗、性激素、人体测量指标和性别角色相关。女性自我认同与较高的体重指数、体脂和较高的脂肪肝指数相关。结论。 考虑到肥胖女性不良代谢、心血管和心理健康结果的风险增加，以女性自我认同为主的女性较高的 BMI 可能与临床风险评估相关。广泛相互作用的生物、心理和性别相关参数要求对精神和内分泌健康进行综合管理。然而，该研究的探索性性质要求在得出明确结论之前在更大的样本中进行复制。