title: Changes in body weight in relation to mortality in 6441 European middle-aged men: the Seven Countries Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the relation between changes in body weight and subsequent mortality.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective follow-up study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Population study.
  
  
  METHODS
  6441 men aged 40-59 y at baseline participating in the European cohorts of the Seven Countries Study. The men were divided into groups depending on their weight pattern ascertained from three weight measurements with intervals of 5 years. They were also divided in quartiles according to the degree of weight variability.
  
  
  METHODS
  All-cause and cause-specific mortality during 15 years following the last weight measurement. Deaths occurring during the first 5 years of follow-up were excluded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significantly elevated hazard ratios (RR) for death from all causes (RR = 1.3; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2-1.5), all cardiovascular diseases (RR = 1.2; 95% CI: 1.0-1.5) and other causes (RR = 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2-2.2) were found for men with a decreasing weight compared with men with a constant weight. A fluctuating weight was associated with an increased risk of all cause mortality (RR = 1.2; 95% CI: 1.0-1.4), coronary heart disease (RR = 1.5; 95% CI: 1.0-1.9) and myocardial infarction (RR = 1.5; 95% CI: 1.0-2.2). The group of men with an increasing body weight also had elevated hazard ratios for dying from coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction, but these were only significant when the total 15-year follow-up was analyzed. The risks of dying from all-causes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other causes were increased in the upper quartile versus the lower quartile of weight variability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the present study show that a decreasing and a fluctuating body weight are associated with increased mortality. An average increase of 7 kg body weight was associated with an elevated risk of dying from coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction. Lowest mortality in these middle-aged men was found in those who maintained a constant body weight.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chronic Disease and Environmental Epidemiology, National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Epidemiology, Bilthoven, Netherlands.
authors.forename: E T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Seidell
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Menotti
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arayanis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dontas
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fidanza
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karvonen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nedeljkovic
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nissinen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Buzina
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors