Socioeconomic inequalities and body mass index in Västerbotten County, Sweden: a longitudinal study of life course influences over two decades
Abstract Introduction Life course socioeconomic inequalities in heart disease, stroke and all-cause mortality are well studied in Sweden. However, few studies have sought to explain the mechanism for such associations mainly due to lack of longitudinal data with multiple measures of socioeconomic st...
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ftbiomed:oai:biomedcentral.com:1475-9276-13-35 2023-05-15T17:44:21+02:00 Socioeconomic inequalities and body mass index in Västerbotten County, Sweden: a longitudinal study of life course influences over two decades Padyab, Mojgan Norberg, Margareta 2014-05-07 http://www.equityhealthj.com/content/13/1/35 en eng BioMed Central Ltd. http://www.equityhealthj.com/content/13/1/35 Copyright 2014 Padyab and Norberg; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. Socioeconomic inequality Life course Body mass index Longitudinal study Northern Sweden Research 2014 ftbiomed 2014-05-18T00:29:04Z Abstract Introduction Life course socioeconomic inequalities in heart disease, stroke and all-cause mortality are well studied in Sweden. However, few studies have sought to explain the mechanism for such associations mainly due to lack of longitudinal data with multiple measures of socioeconomic status (SES) across the life course. Given the population health concern about how socioeconomic inequality is related to poorer health, we aim to tackle obesity as one of the prime suspects that could explain the association between SES inequality and cardiovascular disease and consequently premature death. The aim of this study is to test which life course model best describes the association between socioeconomic disadvantage and obesity among 60 year old inhabitants of Västerbotten County in Northern Sweden. Methods A birth cohort consisting of 3340 individuals born between 1930 and 1932 was studied. Body mass index (BMI) at the age of 60 and information on socioeconomic status at three stages of life (ages 40, 50, and 60 years) was collected. Independent samples t -test was used to compare BMI between advantaged and disadvantaged groups and one-way ANOVA was used to compare BMI among eight SES trajectories. We applied a structured modeling approach to examine three different hypothesized life course SES models (accumulation, critical period, and social mobility) in relation to BMI. Results We found sex differences in the way that late adulthood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with BMI among inhabitants of Northern Sweden. Our study suggests that social adversity in all stages of late adulthood is a particularly important indicator for addressing the social gradients in BMI among women in Northern Sweden and that unhealthy behaviors in terms of smoking and physical inactivity are insufficient to explain the relationships between social and lifestyle inequalities and BMI. Conclusion In order for local authorities to develop informed preventive efforts, we suggest further research to identify modifiable risk factors across the life course which could explain this health inequality. Other/Unknown Material Northern Sweden BioMed Central |
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English |
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Socioeconomic inequality Life course Body mass index Longitudinal study Northern Sweden |
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Socioeconomic inequality Life course Body mass index Longitudinal study Northern Sweden Padyab, Mojgan Norberg, Margareta Socioeconomic inequalities and body mass index in Västerbotten County, Sweden: a longitudinal study of life course influences over two decades |
topic_facet |
Socioeconomic inequality Life course Body mass index Longitudinal study Northern Sweden |
description |
Abstract Introduction Life course socioeconomic inequalities in heart disease, stroke and all-cause mortality are well studied in Sweden. However, few studies have sought to explain the mechanism for such associations mainly due to lack of longitudinal data with multiple measures of socioeconomic status (SES) across the life course. Given the population health concern about how socioeconomic inequality is related to poorer health, we aim to tackle obesity as one of the prime suspects that could explain the association between SES inequality and cardiovascular disease and consequently premature death. The aim of this study is to test which life course model best describes the association between socioeconomic disadvantage and obesity among 60 year old inhabitants of Västerbotten County in Northern Sweden. Methods A birth cohort consisting of 3340 individuals born between 1930 and 1932 was studied. Body mass index (BMI) at the age of 60 and information on socioeconomic status at three stages of life (ages 40, 50, and 60 years) was collected. Independent samples t -test was used to compare BMI between advantaged and disadvantaged groups and one-way ANOVA was used to compare BMI among eight SES trajectories. We applied a structured modeling approach to examine three different hypothesized life course SES models (accumulation, critical period, and social mobility) in relation to BMI. Results We found sex differences in the way that late adulthood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with BMI among inhabitants of Northern Sweden. Our study suggests that social adversity in all stages of late adulthood is a particularly important indicator for addressing the social gradients in BMI among women in Northern Sweden and that unhealthy behaviors in terms of smoking and physical inactivity are insufficient to explain the relationships between social and lifestyle inequalities and BMI. Conclusion In order for local authorities to develop informed preventive efforts, we suggest further research to identify modifiable risk factors across the life course which could explain this health inequality. |
format |
Other/Unknown Material |
author |
Padyab, Mojgan Norberg, Margareta |
author_facet |
Padyab, Mojgan Norberg, Margareta |
author_sort |
Padyab, Mojgan |
title |
Socioeconomic inequalities and body mass index in Västerbotten County, Sweden: a longitudinal study of life course influences over two decades |
title_short |
Socioeconomic inequalities and body mass index in Västerbotten County, Sweden: a longitudinal study of life course influences over two decades |
title_full |
Socioeconomic inequalities and body mass index in Västerbotten County, Sweden: a longitudinal study of life course influences over two decades |
title_fullStr |
Socioeconomic inequalities and body mass index in Västerbotten County, Sweden: a longitudinal study of life course influences over two decades |
title_full_unstemmed |
Socioeconomic inequalities and body mass index in Västerbotten County, Sweden: a longitudinal study of life course influences over two decades |
title_sort |
socioeconomic inequalities and body mass index in västerbotten county, sweden: a longitudinal study of life course influences over two decades |
publisher |
BioMed Central Ltd. |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://www.equityhealthj.com/content/13/1/35 |
genre |
Northern Sweden |
genre_facet |
Northern Sweden |
op_relation |
http://www.equityhealthj.com/content/13/1/35 |
op_rights |
Copyright 2014 Padyab and Norberg; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. |
_version_ |
1766146554935115776 |