Negative Mood is Associated with Sociobehavioral Factors Contributing to Cardiovascular Risk in an Immigrant Population

TL;DR

Negative mood in immigrants is linked to poorer health behaviors and lower community belonging, which may increase cardiovascular risk.

Contribution

This study identifies negative mood as a key factor affecting health behaviors and social integration in immigrant populations.

Findings

Participants with negative mood had lower healthy eating and physical activity scores.

Negative mood was associated with lower confidence in healthy eating and less community belonging.

Those with negative mood reported less social support and fewer community resource accesses.

Abstract

Immigrants to the United States, on average, accumulate cardiovascular risk after resettlement, including obesity. There is a need to co-create interventions to address these disparities, and mood may be an important mediating factor.

The Healthy Immigrant Community (HIC) study, set in southeast Minnesota, enrolled 475 adult participants in a weight loss intervention to reduce cardiovascular risk. Baseline questionnaires assessed mood, nutrition, physical activity, self-efficacy for healthy eating and physical activity, social support, and cohesion. A single-item mood rating of poor or fair was considered “negative”, while ratings of good, very good, or excellent were considered “positive”.

A total of 449 HIC participants (268 Hispanic/Latino and 181 Somali) with complete baseline measures and were included in this analysis. Participants endorsing negative mood compared to those endorsing positive mood had lower scores for healthy eating (p = 0.02) and physical activity levels (p = 0.03), lower confidence in eating a healthy diet (p = 0.001), and felt less of a sense of belonging to their community (p = 0.01). Those endorsing negative mood also reported receiving less social support from their family and friends to eat healthy (p = < 0.001) and be physically active (p = 0.01), and less often accessed community resources for healthy eating (p = 0.001) and physical activity (p = < 0.01) compared to participants reporting positive mood.

Negative mood was associated with less healthy nutrition, lower confidence in eating healthy, sedentary lifestyle, and perceived lack of belonging to the community. Integrating mood management and self-efficacy strategies may enhance the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions among immigrants who report negative mood.

NCT05136339; April 23, 2022