Life-Course Body Mass Index Trajectories Are Predicted by Childhood Socioeconomic Status but Not Exposure to Improved Nutrition during the First 1000 Days after Conception in Guatemalan Adults

Abstract: This article aimed to systematically review the association between socioeconomic status according to the life course models and the body mass index (BMI) in adults. A review was performed following the guidelines of the PRISMA. The studies were identified in the MEDLINE/PubMed, LILACS and Web of Science databases. The eligible articles investigated the association between at least one life course model (risk accumulation, critical period or social mobility) and BMI. In order to assess the quality of the selected articles, the NOS checklist was applied to each study. Eleven articles were selected for the systematic review, and seven articles were selected for the meta-analysis. The average score and the median in the NOS checklist were 6.4, within a maximum possible score of 8 points. The most used model was social mobility. Regarding meta-analysis, there was association between lower life course socioeconomic status and BMI among women. BMI mean difference (MD) was higher among those who remained with low socioeconomic status throughout life when compared with those who maintained a high socioeconomic status (MD: 2.17, 95%CI: 1.48; 2.86). Before that, the BMI MD was higher among those with upward mobility, compared with those who maintained a high socioeconomic status throughout life (MD: 1.20, 95%CI: 0.73; 1.68). The risk of overweight was also higher among women who maintained low socioeconomic status (summary RR: 1.70, 95%CI: 1.05; 2.74); however, according to the GRADE, the studies presented very low quality evidence. For men, no association was observed. Having low socioeconomic status sometime during life is associated with higher BMI in adulthood.

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Socioeconomic status and body mass index life course models: the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort

Cadernos de Saúde Pública ◽

10.1590/0102-311x00260820 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 37 (10) ◽

Author(s):

Luna Strieder Vieira ◽

Juliana dos Santos Vaz ◽

Fernando César Wehrmeister ◽

Felipe Garcia Ribeiro ◽

Janaína Vieira dos Santos Motta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Mass Index ◽

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Life Course ◽

Birth Cohort ◽

Social Mobility ◽

Body Mass ◽

Critical Period ◽

Lower Score ◽

Mobility Models ◽

Accumulation Model

Abstract: This article aims to assess the relationship between an individual’s socioeconomic status over their life-course and their body mass index (BMI) at 22 years of age, according to the hypotheses generated by risk accumulation, critical period, and social mobility models. This was a population-based prospective study based on the Pelotas (Brazil) 1993 birth cohort. The risk accumulation, critical period, and social mobility models were tested in relation to a saturated model and compared with a partial F-test. After the best model was chosen, linear regression was carried out to determine the crude and adjusted regression coefficients of the association between socioeconomic status over the life-course and BMI at 22 years of age. The sample was comprised of 3,292 individuals (53.3% women). We found dose-response effect for both men and women, although the results were opposite. Among men, a lower score in socioeconomic status accumulation model led to a lower BMI average at 22 years of age; whereas among women, a lower score in socioeconomic status accumulation model caused an increase in BMI at 22 years of age.

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