Longitudinal Analysis of Psychosocial Stressors and Body Mass Index in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Psychosocial stress may be a risk factor for obesity and overweight in middle-aged and older adults. However, research on psychosocial stress and excess body weight has typically been cross-sectional and focused on single stressors.

Methods

Using 3 waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study, we conducted longitudinal analyses to assess associations between 5 psychosocial stressors-individually and in combination-and body mass index (BMI), adjusting for sociodemographic factors, alcohol use, and smoking history. We tested interaction effects between race and gender with stressors on BMI.

Results

A total of 3,956 participants were included in the main analyses. Most participants were White (88.04%) and more than half were female (60.39%). Perceived di

SUBMITTER: Cuevas AG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8675401 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature