Yang Xi, Gao Xi, Shu Yang, Li Lei, Xiong Ying, Zhou Xueyan, Jiang Wanyanhan, Sun Qun, Zhou Chengchao, Yang Lian
HEOA Group, School of Public Health, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 1166 Liutai Road, Chengdu, 611137, China.
Department of Operation, Sichuan People's Hospital, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China.
BMC Geriatr. 2025 Jul 2;25(1):440. doi: 10.1186/s12877-025-06089-z.
With the acceleration of population aging, the problem of obesity among older adults is becoming increasingly prominent, representing a major public health problem affecting the health of older adults. In recent years, socioeconomic status(SES) has become a hotspot in research into the mechanisms influencing obesity(OB). However, few studies have explored the process and mechanism of action by which SES affects obesity.
The sample consisted of 5,576 older adults (≥ 65 years), from a large cross-sectional study conducted in Deyang City, China. Different factors associated with OB in older adults were assessed using χ2 test. Pearson correlation analysis and the SPSS function "PROCESS macro" were used for correlation and serial multiple mediation analysis, respectively, to analyze the relationship between SES and OB, and the mediating role of social support and sleep quality.
The prevalence of obesity among older adults aged ≥ 65 years was 11.05%. The risk of obesity was higher among older adults who were women, relatively young, less educated, non-smokers, or with chronic diseases. SES directly affects obesity (SE = 0.187, 95% CI: 0.105, 0.270), accounting for 88.21% of the total effect. Additionally, social support and sleep quality were found to mitigate the negative effect of high SES on obesity (SE = - 0.025, 95% CI: - 0.045, - 0.006), resulting in a suppressing effect that accounts for 11.79% of the total effect.
Greater social support and sleep quality lower the obesity risk associated with SES in older adults. Therefore, targeted prevention, control, and intervention measures, such as increasing social support and improving sleep quality, can be applied based on the characteristics of older adults of different socioeconomic statuses to minimize the socioeconomic status-associated obesity risks and thus achieve the goal of reducing obesity.
随着人口老龄化加速，老年人肥胖问题日益突出，成为影响老年人健康的重大公共卫生问题。近年来，社会经济地位（SES）已成为肥胖（OB）影响机制研究的热点。然而，很少有研究探讨SES影响肥胖的过程和作用机制。
样本来自中国德阳市一项大型横断面研究中的5576名老年人（≥65岁）。采用χ2检验评估老年人与OB相关的不同因素。分别使用Pearson相关分析和SPSS函数“PROCESS宏”进行相关分析和系列多重中介分析，以分析SES与OB之间的关系，以及社会支持和睡眠质量的中介作用。
≥65岁老年人的肥胖患病率为11.05%。女性、相对年轻、受教育程度较低、不吸烟或患有慢性病的老年人肥胖风险较高。SES直接影响肥胖（SE = 0.187，95%CI：0.105，0.270），占总效应的88.2
