Detailed assessments of childhood adversity enhance prediction of central obesity independent of gender, race, adult psychosocial risk and health behaviors

• Published in: Metabolism, clinical and experimental clinical and experimental, 2014-02, Vol.63 (2), p.199-206
• Main Authors: Davis, Cynthia R, Dearing, Eric, Usher, Nicole, Trifiletti, Sarah, Zaichenko, Lesya, Ollen, Elizabeth, Brinkoetter, Mary T, Crowell-Doom, Cindy, Joung, Kyoung, Park, Kyung Hee, Mantzoros, Christos S, Crowell, Judith A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult Survivors of Child Abuse - statistics & numerical data; Biological and medical sciences; Black or African American - statistics & numerical data; Body Mass Index; Boston - epidemiology; Central obesity; Child; Child Abuse - statistics & numerical data; Child Abuse, Sexual - statistics & numerical data; Child, Preschool; Childhood adversity; Chronic Disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; Death; Domestic Violence - statistics & numerical data; Educational Status; Employment; Endocrinology & Metabolism; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Health Behavior; Humans; Medical sciences; Metabolic diseases; Middle Aged; Modifiable risk factors; Obesity; Obesity, Abdominal - epidemiology; Obesity, Abdominal - ethnology; Obesity, Abdominal - etiology; Obesity, Abdominal - metabolism; Parents; Predictive Value of Tests; Psychosocial risk factors; Risk Factors; Sex Factors; Substance-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Waist-Hip Ratio; White People - statistics & numerical data
• ISSN: 0026-0495; 1532-8600
• DOI: 10.1016/j.metabol.2013.08.013

Abstract Objective This study examined whether a novel indicator of overall childhood adversity, incorporating number of adversities, severity, and chronicity, predicted central obesity beyond contributions of “modifiable” risk factors including psychosocial characteristics and health behaviors in a diverse sample of midlife adults. The study also examined whether the overall adversity score (number of adversities × severity × chronicity) better predicted obesity compared to cumulative adversity (number of adversities), a more traditional assessment of childhood adversity. Materials/Methods 210 Black/African Americans and White/European Americans, mean age = 45.8; ± 3.3 years, were studied cross-sectionally. Regression analysis examined overall childhood adversity as a direct, non-modifiable risk factor for central obesity (waist–hip ratio) and body mass index (BMI), with and without adjustment for established adult psychosocial risk factors (education, employment, social functioning) and heath behavior risk factors (smoking, drinking, diet, exercise). Results Overall childhood adversity was an independent significant predictor of central obesity, and the relations between psychosocial and health risk factors and central obesity were not significant when overall adversity was in the model. Overall adversity was not a statistically significant predictor of BMI. Conclusions Overall childhood adversity, incorporating severity and chronicity and cumulative scores, predicts central obesity beyond more contemporaneous risk factors often considered modifiable. This is consistent with early dysregulation of metabolic functioning. Findings can inform practitioners interested in the impact of childhood adversity and personalizing treatment approaches of obesity within high-risk populations. Prevention/intervention research is necessary to discover and address the underlying causes and impact of childhood adversity on metabolic functioning.