Abstract
Diet quality has not been well studied in relation to positive psychological traits.
Our purpose was to investigate the relationship between optimism and diet quality
in postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative observational study
(OS) and clinical trials (CTs), and to determine whether optimism was associated with
diet change after a 1-year dietary intervention. Diet quality was scored with the
Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) and optimism assessed with the Life Orientation
Test-Revised. Baseline characteristics were compared across AHEI quintiles or optimism
tertiles using regression models with each variable of interest as a function of quintiles
or tertiles (OS, n=87,630; CT, n=65,360). Association between optimism and baseline
AHEI and change in AHEI over 1 year were tested using multivariate linear regression
(CT, n=13,645). Potential interaction between optimism and trial arm and demographic/lifestyle
factors on AHEI change was tested using likelihood ratio test (CT intervention, n=13,645;
CT control, n=20,242). Women reporting high AHEI were non-Hispanic white, educated,
physically active, past or never smokers, hormone therapy users, had lower body mass
index and waist circumference, and were less likely to have chronic conditions. In
the CT intervention, higher optimism was associated with higher AHEI at baseline and
with greater change over 1 year (P=0.001). Effect modification by intervention status was observed (P=0.014), whereas control participants with highest optimism achieved threefold greater
AHEI increase compared with those with the lowest optimism. These data support a relationship
between optimism and dietary quality score in postmenopausal women at baseline and
over 1 year.
Keywords
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Biography
M. D. Hingle is an assistant professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson.
Biography
C. A. Thomson is a professor, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson.
Biography
B. C. Wertheim is an assistant scientific investigator, University of Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson, and at the University of Arizona, Tucson.
Biography
H. A. Tindle is an assistant professor of medicine, Center for Research on Healthcare, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.
Biography
L. Tinker is a nutrition scientist, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.
Biography
R. A. Seguin is an assistant professor, Division of Nutritional Sciences, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
Biography
M. C. Rosal is an associate professor, Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 18, 2014
Accepted:
December 11,
2013
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT The WHI program is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institutes of Health; and US Department of Health and Human Services through contracts HHSN268201100046C, HHSN268201100001C, HHSN268201100002C, HHSN268201100003C, HHSN268201100004C, and HHSN271201100004C.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
