title: Childhood social class and adult adiposity and blood-pressure trajectories 36-53 years: gender-specific results from a British birth cohort.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In this study, the authors investigate gender-specific effects of childhood socio-economic position (SEP) on adiposity and blood pressure at three time points in adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mixed models were used to assess the association of childhood SEP with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at ages 36, 43 and 53 years in a British birth cohort.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The adverse effect of lower childhood SEP on adiposity increased between ages 36 and 53 years in women (BMI: trend test: p=0.03) and remained stable in men, but the opposite was seen for SBP, where inequalities increased in men (p=0.01). Childhood SEP inequalities in DBP were stable with age in both men and women. Educational attainment mediated some but not all of the effects of childhood SEP on adiposity and SBP, and their rate of change; adult social class was a less important mediator.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Childhood SEP is important for adult adiposity and blood pressure across midlife, especially for BMI in women and for blood pressure in men. Thus, pathways to adult health differ for men and women, and public health policies aimed at reducing social inequalities need to start early in life and take account of gender.
authors.affiliation: MRC National Survey of Healthand Development, MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, London, UK. heine@fhi.no
authors.forename: Bjørn Heine
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Strand
authors.forename: Emily T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guralnik
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hardy
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kuh
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012923:Social Class; D006113:United Kingdom; D055105:Waist Circumference