Sex Differences in the Association of Youth Body Mass Index to Adult Health-related Quality of Life: The Physical Activity Longitudinal Study

• Published in: Canadian journal of public health 2011-01, Vol.102 (1), p.42-46
• Main Authors: Herman, Katya M., Hopman, Wilma M., Craig, Cora L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult education; Adulthood; Age; Biological and medical sciences; Body Mass Index; Child; Demographic aspects; Exercise; Female; Health aspects; Health Status; Humans; Linear Models; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental Health; Metabolic diseases; Miscellaneous; Multivariate Analysis; Obesity; Obesity - prevention & control; Obesity in adolescence; Overweight; Public Health; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Quality of Life; QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH; Studies
• ISSN: 0008-4263; 1920-7476
• DOI: 10.1007/BF03404875

Objective: The long-term consequences of youth overweight on adult health-related quality of life (HRQL) have not been documented. This study examines sex differences in the association between youth body mass index (BMI) and adult HRQL. Methods: Subjects included 139 male and 142 female participants aged 7-18 in the 1981 Canada Fitness Survey, followed up in 2002-04. The associations of youth BMI to adult HRQL (SF-36) were examined with bivariate correlations, differences in means and multivariate linear regression analyses. Results: Bivariate analyses revealed positive associations between youth overweight and mental aspects of adult HRQL in females, and weak negative associations with physical aspects, but no significant associations in males. All overweight male and female youth scored the maximum (100) on Role Emotional (RE). In females, compared to healthy weight youth, overweight youth scored 16.0, 13.4, 12.7, and 10.9 points higher on general health (GH), vitality (VT), mental health (MH), and the mental component score (MCS) in adulthood, respectively; a 1 unit increase in youth BMI led to 1.7, 1.5, and 1.4 point increases in adult VT, MH and MCS scores, respectively. Associations were attenuated with the removal of adult BMI from the models, but remained strong for MH and MCS. Conclusions: Overweight in youth did not have a significant negative impact on HRQL two decades later; rather, a positive association was found with mental aspects of adult HRQL in females. Objectifs : Les conséquences à long terme du surpoids durant l'enfance sur la qualité de vie liée à la santé (QVLS) à l'âge adulte n'ont pas été étudiées. Nous examinons ici l'écart entre les sexes dans l'association entre l'indice de masse corporelle (IMC) durant l'enfance et la QVLS à l'âge adulte. Méthode : Nos sujets étaient 139 garçons et 142 filles de 7 à 18 ans ayant participé à l'Enquête condition physique Canada en 1981 et fait l'objet de suivis en 2002-2004. Nous avons étudié les associations entre l'IMC durant l'enfance et la QVLS à l'âge adulte (selon le questionnaire SF-36) à l'aide de corrélations bivariées, de différences dans les moyennes et de régressions linéaires multivariées. Résultats : Les analyses bivariées ont mis au jour des associations positives entre le surpoids durant l'enfance et les aspects mentaux de la QVLS à l'âge adulte chez les femmes, ainsi que de faibles associations négatives avec les aspects physiques, mais aucune association significative chez les