OPTIM-Red Survey: Evaluating the Impact of Depression, Anxiety and Stress on Diet Quality and Physical Activity
Description: This project aims to examine how modifiable psychological and social factors influence adherence to Life's Essential 8 among women ages 18 to 49 with elevated cardiovascular risk. Building on promising results from a peer-led group preventative self-management intervention called TEAM-Red, we propose a supplemental study using survey methods to evaluate how psychological distress, social support, and self-efficacy affect engagement in recommended diet and physical activity. We will recruit 150 new participants and combine their baseline data with an existing sample of 83 women, resulting in a diverse cross-sectional sample. The new participants will complete the same measures again two months later, allowing for repeated measures analysis. We will examine how neighborhood-level social stress, measured using a validated index based on census data, relates to perceived stress, diet quality, and physical activity. We will assess whether changes in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress predict changes in diet and exercise, while controlling for social desirability bias. In addition, we will test whether social support and health self-efficacy buffer the negative effects of distress on behavior. Lastly, we will use structural equation modeling to evaluate how social determinants, psychological symptoms, and resilience-related factors work together to influence lifestyle behaviors. Findings from this study will inform refinements to TEAM-Red and provide an empirically grounded framework to guide future implementation in healthcare and community settings. By identifying key intervention targets, the project seeks to reduce improve cardiovascular outcomes for high-risk women through scalable, culturally responsive prevention strategies.
Funder: American Heart Association
Amount: $175,000
Funding type: training
Funder scheme: RGR Supplemental Grants
Start date: 2025-07-01
End date: 2026-06-30
Investigators: Jennifer Levin, Jennifer Levin
Institution: University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
Subfield: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Funded outputs count: 0
Funder award ID: 25RGRSG1487549
OpenAlex ID: G6576378221