PD457 - ATTENTION-RELATED DIFFICULTIES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION INDEPENDENT OF EATING PATTERNS: EVIDENCE FROM NHANES

PD457

ATTENTION-RELATED DIFFICULTIES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION INDEPENDENT OF EATING PATTERNS: EVIDENCE FROM NHANES

E.-H. Teklic^1,*

¹Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, United States

Rationale: The relationship between attention-related difficulties and systemic inflammation has been increasingly recognized; however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In particular, it is unknown whether dysregulated eating behaviors account for this association in the general adult population.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of adults aged ≥18 years using NHANES 2017–2020 data. Attention-related difficulty was assessed using PHQ item DPQ040. Eating patterns, including eating time variability and meal frequency, were derived from 24-hour dietary recall. Systemic inflammation was measured using the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Multivariable linear regression models were used to examine associations, adjusting for age, sex, and sleep duration. Eating variables were sequentially added to assess potential mediation. Sensitivity analyses were performed using log-transformed NLR

Results: Among 9,693 adults, greater attention-related difficulty was associated with more irregular eating patterns, reflected by increased eating time variability (β = 0.0088, p = 0.005) and lower meal frequency (β = −0.365, p < 0.001). It was also independently associated with higher systemic inflammation (β = 0.078, p < 0.001), remaining robust after adjustment for sleep duration and in sensitivity analyses using log-transformed NLR (β = 0.030, p < 0.001). Importantly, this association was not attenuated after accounting for eating behaviors.

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Conclusion: Attention-related difficulties were associated with both irregular eating behaviors and elevated systemic inflammation; however, eating patterns did not explain this relationship. These findings suggest that mechanisms beyond behavioral factors may underlie inflammation in this population.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared