Fatty Acid Blood Levels, Vitamin D Status, Physical Performance, Activity, and Resiliency: A Novel Potential Screening Tool for Depressed Mood in Active Duty Soldiers. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • This study examined whether blood fatty acid levels, vitamin D status, and/or physical activity are associated with physical fitness scores; a measure of mood, Patient Health Questionnaire-9; and a measure of resiliency, Dispositional Resiliency Scale-15 in active duty Soldiers. 100 active duty males at Fort Hood, Texas, underwent a battery of psychometric tests, anthropometric measurements, and fitness tests, and they also provided fasting blood samples for fatty acid and vitamin D analysis. Pearson bivariate correlation analysis revealed significant correlations among psychometric tests, anthropometric measurements, physical performance, reported physical inactivity (sitting time), and fatty acid and vitamin D blood levels. On the basis of these findings, a regression equation was developed to predict a depressed mood status as determined by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. The equation accurately predicted depressed mood status in 80% of our participants with a sensitivity of 76.9% and a specificity of 80.5%. Results indicate that the use of a regression equation may be helpful in identifying Soldiers at higher risk for mental health issues. Future studies should evaluate the impact of exercise and diet as a means of improving resiliency and reducing depressed mood in Soldiers.

published proceedings

  • Mil Med

altmetric score

  • 142.5

author list (cited authors)

  • Barringer, N. D., Kotwal, R. S., Lewis, M. D., Funderburk, L. K., Elliott, T. R., Crouse, S. F., ... Kreider, R. B.

citation count

  • 5

complete list of authors

  • Barringer, Nicholas D||Kotwal, Russ S||Lewis, Michael D||Funderburk, Leslee K||Elliott, Timothy R||Crouse, Stephen F||Smith, Stephen B||Greenwood, Michael||Kreider, Richard B

publication date

  • September 2016