Department of Health Policy and Management, Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea.
Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Sep 16;17(18):6755. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17186755.
This study aimed to examine and quantify obesity risk across different education levels during ageing using the dataset of a nationally representative longitudinal survey. A total of 45,391 observations of 9991 individuals aged ≥45 years were included in this study. Obesity was defined as a body mass index of ≥25, according to a guideline for Asians by the World Health Organization, and education level was grouped into three categories. Socio-demographics, lifestyles, and health conditions were used as covariates. Adjusted odds ratios and predicted probabilities of obesity were computed and adjusted for a complex survey design. With respect to gender, education level and age were significantly associated with obesity risk, and the association was stronger in women than in men. Furthermore, education level was negatively associated with obesity risk in the middle age in each gender. However, the association became positive in the old age, specifically among highly educated women. Therefore, policy efforts to reduce obesity risk and the resulting education gradients should be established based on studies considering their old age. Further longitudinal studies are required to examine whether these findings are valid in other socio-cultural or economic settings.
本研究旨在利用全国代表性纵向调查数据集，考察和量化不同教育水平在衰老过程中的肥胖风险。本研究共纳入了 9991 名年龄≥45 岁个体的 45391 次观察结果。肥胖的定义为根据世界卫生组织针对亚洲人的指南，身体质量指数≥25，并将教育水平分为三类。社会人口统计学、生活方式和健康状况被用作协变量。计算了调整后的优势比和肥胖的预测概率，并针对复杂的调查设计进行了调整。就性别而言，教育水平和年龄与肥胖风险显著相关，且在女性中比在男性中更强。此外，在每个性别中，教育水平与中年肥胖风险呈负相关。然而，这种关联在老年时变得积极，特别是在高学历女性中。因此，应根据考虑其老年的研究制定减少肥胖风险和由此产生的教育梯度的政策努力。需要进一步的纵向研究来检验这些发现是否在其他社会文化或经济环境中有效。
