Poster #45 - Childhood Adversities and Later Adiposity: A Prospective Study of 60,000 Danish Children

• In Event: Poster Session 03

Abstract

Background
Childhood overweight is a major public health challenge often leading to lifelong overweight and health consequences (Jeyalakshmi & Kamalam, 2016). Childhood overweight is strongly associated with overweight in adulthood, why the study of predictors of body mass index (BMI) throughout childhood and adolescence is of critical importance. Yet, the underlying mechanisms leading to lifelong overweight are not fully understood. One risk factor that has been suggested in the causal chain to lifelong overweight is childhood adversities, such as poverty, divorce, parental death and abuse. Childhood adversities have thus been found to have strong and enduring effects on later overweight (Danese, 2014; Salmela et al., 2019), possibly involving socio-emotional, cognitive and endocrine pathways. Yet, previous studies may have biased findings because of non-representative samples, retrospective assessment of childhood adversities or relatively small samples.
Aim
The aim of this study therefore is to investigate the predictive value of childhood adversities on BMI trajectories leading to overweight in young adulthood in a large representative sample of Danish children followed in a prospective longitudinal design.
Hypotheses
We hypothesize that 1) childhood adversities predict BMI trajectories and overweight status through childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. 2) childhood adversities have a cumulative effect on the risk of later overweight. 3) associations of childhood adversities with BMI trajectories leading to adult overweight contribute to the well-established association between socioeconomic status and overweight in adulthood.
Methods
The study population is a large representative sample of ~ 60.000 Danish children born 1980 – 1996. The sample is derived by combining data from four large Danish cohorts and registries: 1) The Danish Life Course (DANLIFE) cohort provides register data on childhood adversities.(Bengtsson et al., 2019). 2) The Copenhagen School Health Records Register (CSHRR) has data on BMI measured by the school nurse (Baker et al, 2009). 3) The Danish Conscription Registry Data (DCRD) (Christensen et al., 2018) has BMI for young adult men and 4) The Danish Birth Registry (MFR) for young adult women.
Analytical plan
Latent class mixed modelling identify BMI trajectories and the predictive value of adverse childhood experiences for BMI trajectories, and overweight status will be examined using multinomial mixture model and logistic regression models. Regression modelling investigates whether the childhood adversities explain associations between socioeconomic status and overweight in young adulthood. Extensions of this model examine how cumulative childhood adversities and their timing predict BMI trajectories associated with the risk of overweight.
Implications
The study overcomes the methodological limitations of previous research, and may contribute to improve our understanding of early effects and mechanisms of childhood adversities on BMI trajectories. This may pave the way to more effective overweight prevention strategies.

Authors

• Cathrine Lawaetz Wimmelmann, University of Copenhagen
  Presenting Author

• Leonie K Elsenburg, University of Copenhagen

• Gunhild Tidemann Okholm, University of Copenhagen

• Claus Ekstrøm, University of Copenhagen

• Trine Flensborg-Madsen, University of Copenhagen

• Thorkild I.A. Sørensen, University of Copenhagen

• Naja Hulvej Rod, University of Copenhagen