P0037 - Associations Between Adverse Home Environments and Appetite Hormones, Adipokines, and Adiposity in Adolescence: A Longitudinal Study of a Chilean Birth Cohort

Background: Stress can affect appetite via disruptions in appetite hormones and adipokines. Stress triggered by an adverse home environment might also relate to appetite.

Objective: To determine whether adverse home environments in childhood and adolescence relate to disruptions in appetite hormones in adolescence, or specifically, lower levels of adiponectin and ghrelin and higher levels of leptin and orexin.

Methods: Home environments were measured for forms/types of adversity (i.e., depression, family stress, socioeconomic disadvantage) in 585 Chilean youth (52.6 % male) at age 10 years, 515 of whom were reassessed at age 16 years. At age 16, participants provided fasting blood samples for assessment of adipokines and feeding hormones, and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) was assessed as an indicator of adiposity. Multinominal logistic regressions compared hormone levels by tertiles of environmental stresses (maternal depression, family stress, socioeconomic disadvantage).

Results: There were no significant associations found between socioeconomic status and adipokines and feeding hormones. Those in the highest maternal depression group had lower adiponectin (B= 1.59, p=.005) and ghrelin levels (B=36.3, p=.022). Those with the highest family stress at 16 years had lower adiponectin levels (B=1.44, p=.027) and higher WHtR (B=.651, p=.009) than the lowest family stress group.

Conclusion: We observed consistent associations between higher adversity and lower adiponectin, though the associations varied by age at adversity. Further research is needed to determine whether an adverse family environment is a predictor of metabolic regulation and adiposity. Current findings suggest that the relationship between home environment and higher weight status may be mediated through adipokines.