Do physical activity and caloric intake mediate the association between pain interference and body mass index among adults living with sickle cell disease

Physical inactivity and excessive caloric intake are the primary contributors of overweight and obesity, and research consistently shows that pain is associated with overweight and obesity among adults with chronic diseases, including sickle cell disease (SCD). However, little is known about the mechanisms that potentially explain these links. The purpose of this study was to examine whether physical activity and caloric intake mediate the association between pain interference and body mass index among 49 African Americans adults living with SCD (71% female; mean age = 39 years). Participants reported demographic information and completed measures of pain, caloric intake, and physical activity. In addition, researchers calculated body mass index (BMI) using participants' height and weight. The results of this study indicated that genotype [ r(29) = .66, p < .001] was significantly associated with BMI. However, contrary to our hypotheses, pain interference was not associated with BMI, and the mediation and moderated mediation analyses were not statistically significant. These findings suggest that genotype may be related to BMI in adults with SCD; however, other variables (e.g., physical inactivity, excessive caloric intake) that have consistently been found to be associated with overweight and obesity among adults with several chronic health conditions were not associated with BMI in this sample of adults with SCD. Additional research needs to be conducted to enhance our understanding about the development of overweight and obesity in this population.