Publication
Title
Socioeconomic position in young adulthood is associated with BMI in Australian families
Author
Abstract
Low socioeconomic position (SEP) is associated with increased cardiovascular (CV) disease risk, but the relative importance of SEP in childhood and adulthood, and of changes in SEP between these two life stages, remains unclear. Studies of families may help clarify these issues. We aimed to assess whether SEP in young adulthood, or change in SEP from childhood to young adulthood, was associated with five continuously measured CV risk factors. We used data from 286 adult Australian families from the Victorian Family Heart Study (VFHS), in which some offspring have left home (n = 364) and some remained at home (n = 199). SEP (defined as the Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage) was matched to addresses. We fitted variance components models to test whether young adult SEP and/or change in SEP was associated with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, after adjustment for parental SEP and within-family correlation. An increase in SEP of 100 SEIFA units from childhood to adulthood was associated with a lower BMI (beta = -0.49 kg/m(2), P < 0.01) only. These results suggest that a change in SEP in young adulthood is an important predictor of BMI, independent of childhood SEP.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Journal of public health.. - Oxford :
Publication
Oxford : : Oxford university press, , 2016
ISSN
1741-3842
DOI
10.1093/PUBMED/FDV107
Volume/pages
38 :2 (2016) , p. E39-E46
ISI
000383511000006
Pubmed ID
26290476
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
UAntwerpen
Publication type
Subject
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 07.10.2021
Last edited 05.12.2024
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