The relation between childhood adversity and adult obesity in a population-based study in women and men

Abstract

Childhood maltreatment has been shown to relate to adult obesity. In this epidemiological study, we investigate the association between childhood maltreatment and waist-to-height-ratio (WHtR) in a sample of the German adult population, comprising of N = 2936 participants. WHtR, an indicator for risk of obesity, was the primary outcome. Childhood maltreatment was assessed by the Childhood Trauma Screener (CTS), which assesses emotional and physical neglect, abuse as well as sexual abuse. Cohort-data were harmonized and analyzed within DataSHIELD. We used multivariable regression models to estimate the association of childhood maltreatment and WHtR at different levels of adjustments for potential confounders. Overall childhood maltreatment was associated with a higher WHtR in both sexes (women: p = 0.004, men: p < 0.001); associations were no longer significant in women after adding socioeconomic variables, but remained significant in men (p = 0.013). Additionally, we were able to identify sex specific patterns for childhood maltreatment predicting the WHtR. Emotional neglect and abuse had stronger impacts on the WHtR in women than in men, whereas physical neglect and abuse had stronger impacts in men. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive population-based study testing various types of childhood maltreatment with WHtR in sex-, region- and weight-stratified analyses. Future studies in clinical populations are warranted to examine U-shaped correlations between increased WHtR and childhood maltreatment.

Depression Mediates the Association Between Childhood Emotional Abuse and the Onset of Type 2 Diabetes: Findings From German Multi-Cohort Prospective Studies

“…The severity of each childhood trauma category ranged from (1) never experienced the specific trauma to (5) very often experienced the specific trauma, with a sum score ranging from 5 to 25. Given the low number of participants with frequent trauma experience, we transformed each item into a binary variable ( 26 ). The threshold for the two neglect categories was the subscale (4) “ often ,” while for the two abuse items, it started with (3) “ occasionally .” Sexual abuse had the strongest threshold, starting with (2) “rare” ( 23 ).…”

Examining the association between theFTOgene and neuroticism reveals indirect effects on subjective well-being and problematic alcohol use

“…These adversities, experienced before the age of 18, included severe family conflicts, significant financial hardships in the family, parental divorce, or the loss of a parent, and were coded categorically as either the absence of adversities or the presence of at least one. Recognizing the established association of childhood adversities with BMI 34,35 , substance use 36,37 , subjective well-being 38,39 , and neuroticism 40,41 , we accounted for them as covariates in our regression analyses (see below).…”

Childhood Emotional Neglect and Cardiovascular Disease: A Narrative Review

“…This behavior may lead to increased caloric intake, promoting obesity. CM has been shown to be associated with adult obesity: In an epidemiological study including 2.936 Germans, overall CM was associated with a higher waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) for men and women ( 89 ); however, this association was not significant anymore in women after adding sociodemographic covariates but remained significant in men. Interestingly, emotional neglect and abuse showed a more substantial impact on WHtR in women than in men, while physical neglect and abuse seemed to be stronger predictors in men.…”