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Relationship of body mass index in young adulthood and health-related quality of life two decades later: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study

International Journal of Obesity volume 35, pages 134–141 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective:

The expanding overweight and obesity epidemic notwithstanding, little is known about their long-term effect on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The main objective of this study was to investigate whether overweight (body mass index (BMI) 25 to <30 kg m−2) and obese (BMI ⩾30 kg m−2) young adults have poorer HRQoL 20 years later.

Methods:

We studied 3014 participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study, a longitudinal, community-dwelling, biracial cohort from four cities. BMI was measured at baseline and 20 years later. HRQoL was assessed by the Physical Component Summary (PCS) and the Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores of the Medical Outcomes Study 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey at year 20. Higher PCS or MCS scores indicate better HRQoL.

Results:

Mean year 20 PCS score was 52.2 for normal weight participants at baseline, 50.3 for overweight and 46.4 for obese (P-trend <0.001). This relation persisted after adjustment for baseline demographics, general health, and physical and behavioral risk factors and after further adjustment for 20-year changes in risk factors. No association was observed for MCS scores (P-trend 0.43).

Conclusion:

Overweight and obesity in early adulthood are adversely associated with self-reported physical HRQoL, but not mental HRQoL 20 years later.

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Acknowledgements

Dr Andrea Kozak's work on this article was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cardiovascular Epidemiology and Prevention (5-T32-HL069771-04). The work of Cheeling Chan and Dr Martha Daviglus, Dr Kiang Liu, Dr Catarina Kiefe and Dr David Jacobs was supported in part by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute contracts N01-HC-48047, N01-HC-48048, N01-HC-48049, N01-HC-48050 and N01-HC-95095 (CARDIA study).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    A T Kozak

  2. Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

    M L Daviglus, C Chan & K Liu

  3. Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester, MA, USA

    C I Kiefe

  4. Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    D R Jacobs Jr

  5. Department of Nutrition, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    D R Jacobs Jr

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  1. A T Kozak
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  6. K Liu
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Correspondence to A T Kozak.

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Kozak, A., Daviglus, M., Chan, C. et al. Relationship of body mass index in young adulthood and health-related quality of life two decades later: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study. Int J Obes 35, 134–141 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2010.120

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