Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Oct;57(4):495-502.
doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2019.05.016.

Sensitive Periods for the Association Between Childhood Maltreatment and BMI

Rebeccah L Sokol  1 , Nisha C Gottfredson  2 , Jennifer M Poti  3 , Meghan E Shanahan  4 , Carolyn T Halpern  4 , Edwin B Fisher  2 , Susan T Ennett  2
Affiliations

Sensitive Periods for the Association Between Childhood Maltreatment and BMI

Rebeccah L Sokol et al. Am J Prev Med. 2019 Oct.

Abstract

Introduction: Although previous research has suggested a positive association between child maltreatment and BMI over the life course, it is unclear when this develops.

Methods: The authors used time-varying effect models and data from a nationally representative, longitudinal, cohort study (Add Health), to test how childhood physical, sexual, and emotional abuse uniquely varied in associations with BMI from age 13 to 28 years, and whether different patterns existed for male and female participants. Add Health collected data from 1994 to 2008, and the present analyses took place in 2018.

Results: Age 18 years was the earliest that a relationship between maltreatment and BMI emerged for either sex. Child sexual abuse was negatively associated with BMI among male participants from 18.5 to 20 years, but positively associated with BMI among female participants from 19 to 24.5 years, and childhood emotional abuse was positively associated with BMI among female participants from 18 to 28 years.

Conclusions: The relationship between child maltreatment and BMI varies as a function of type of maltreatment, sex, and time. Notably, associations between maltreatment and BMI did not emerge until young adulthood. Future research should investigate mechanisms by which the association between maltreatment and BMI changes over time to identify trauma-informed intervention targets for improving weight outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Average body mass index across ages 13–28 years with 95% confidence intervals of the means, stratified by biological sex.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Plots of the associations between ever having experienced (a) physical abuse, (b) sexual abuse, and (c) emotional abuse, and BMI from 13 to 28 years old, and 95% confidence interval of the association, stratified by sex and controlling for potential confounders.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Sedlak AJ, Mettenburg J, Basena M, Peta I, McPherson K, Greene A. Fourth national incidence study of child abuse and neglect (NIS-4). Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services; Retrieved on July 2010;9:2010.
    1. Wildeman C, Emanuel N, Leventhal JM, Putnam-Hornstein E, Waldfogel J, Lee H. The prevalence of confirmed maltreatment among US children, 2004 to 2011. JAMA Pediatr. 2014;168(8):706–713. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Stoltenborgh M, Bakermans-Kranenburg MJ, Alink LR, IJzendoorn MH. The prevalence of child maltreatment across the globe: Review of a series of meta-analyses. Child Abuse Review. 2015;24(1):37–50.
    1. Danese A, Tan M. Childhood maltreatment and obesity: systematic review and meta-analysis. Molecular psychiatry. 2014;19(5):544–554. - PubMed
    1. Dong M, Giles WH, Felitti VJ, et al. Insights into causal pathways for ischemic heart disease adverse childhood experiences study. Circulation. 2004;110(13):1761–1766. - PubMed

Publication types