ESPEN 2012 - Late breaking abstract submission

Topic: Late Breaking Abstract

Abs n°:ESPEN12-1866

Abs Title: STRESS AND SWEET SUBSTANCE DEPENDENCE (SSD) IN WOMEN

R. W. Diez-Garcia ^1,*D. M. Macedo ¹ and Danielle Marques Macedo, Rosa Wanda Diez-Garcia

¹Internal Medicine, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil

Rationale: Introduction: Stress may contribute to the development of SSD. Objective: To compare the occurrence of the SSD between women with and without stress. 

Methods: The stress was diagnosed by means of the instrument "Stress Symptoms Inventory for Adults Lipp¹" and the sample was stratified into two groups (with and without stress). We used questionnaires to identify and to characterize the DSD; some questions to map qualitative situations of consumption of sugars; and seven food records to estimate the average daily intake of sugars. An experiment was simulated to analyze the usual addition of sugar in bitter drink (coffee) and acid drink (iced passion fruit).

Results: Fifty-seven women participated in the study, 31 with stress (54,38%) and 26 without stress (45,61%). The SSD was found in 32 women, and 77.42% of them were also stressed (p<0.01). Comparing women with and without SSD, 81,25% of women with SSD using the candy to improve mood; 75% need increasing amounts to feel good; 81,25% feel symptoms in the absence of sweet; 93,75% said they always eat more sweets than they intended; 71,88% spend hours thinking about how to acquire them; 40,62% said they have stopped doing any activity to be eating sweet; and  81,25% still eating these foods even though they can cause problems (p<0,01). The variety, amount of sweets, and eating behaviors observed among women with SSD were peculiar. The average daily intake of sugars and the amount of sugar required to sweeten the bitter drink were significantly higher among women with SSD (p0,02).

Conclusion: There are more women with SSD between stressed, and consumption of sugars and behaviors related to the search for sweets are distinct from women without DSD, as well as tolerance to the bitter taste.

Reference(s): ¹LIPP, M. N. Inventário de Sintomas de Estresse para Adultos de Lipp. São Paulo: Casa do Psicólogo, 2000.

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared

Keywords: StressSweet Substance Dependence