The Associations of Dispositional Optimism with Multiple Measures of Obesity among African Americans: The Jackson Heart Study

Obinna Ivoke^1, , Azad R. Bhuiyan¹, Daniel Sarpong², Rodolfo Vargas³, Mario Azevedo⁴ and Mario Sims⁵

¹Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS

²Department of General Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut

³Office of Health Data and Research, Mississippi State Department of Health, Jackson, MS

⁴College of Liberal Arts, Jackson State University, Jackson MS

⁵Department of Social Medicine, Population and Public Health, University of California, Riverside, CA

Cite this paper:
Obinna Ivoke, Azad R. Bhuiyan, Daniel Sarpong, Rodolfo Vargas, Mario Azevedo and Mario Sims. The Associations of Dispositional Optimism with Multiple Measures of Obesity among African Americans: The Jackson Heart Study. American Journal of Public Health Research. 2023; 11(6):174-182. doi: 10.12691/ajphr-11-6-1

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the cross-sectional associations of dispositional optimism (DO) with multiple measures of adiposity among African Americans (AA). Methods: Using the Jackson Heart Study (JHS) data, we analyzed baseline data (2000-2004) for 4624 African-American adults. Multivariable Poisson regression analysis with robust standard error was used to estimate the prevalence ratios (PRs; 95% confidence intervals-CI) of DO by adiposity measures, adjusting for demographics, socioeconomic status (SES), behavioral factors and depressive symptoms. Results: After full adjustment, high (vs. low) optimism was significantly associated with a 5% reduced prevalence of WHtR ≥ 0.05 (PR=0.95; 95% CI = 0.91, 0.99; P = .008) in the total sample. High (vs. low) DO was also protective of WC ≥ 102 cm (male), ≥ 88cm (female) after adjusting for demographics, SES and behavioral risk factors (PR= 0.94; 95% CI = 0.89, 0.99; P = .028). The association between high (vs. low) optimism and BMI ≥30 kg/m² was significant (PR= 0.93; 95% CI = 0.87, 0.99; P = .034) after adjustment for demographic factors. Conclusion: High levels of DO could be protective against high abdominal adiposity phenotype among AA.

Keywords:
cardiovascular disease obesity measures dispositional optimism jackson heart study

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