title: The relationship of violence and traumatic stress to changes in weight and waist circumference: longitudinal analyses from the study of women's health across the nation.
abstract: This article investigates the associations of violence and traumatic stress with changes in weight and waist circumference, hypothesizing that violence in midlife would be associated with increases or decreases in weight and waist circumference. The longitudinal cohort of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation comprised the study sample, which included an ethnically/racially and socially diverse group of 2,870 women between the ages of 42 and 52 years at baseline. Women were followed annually for 10 years, and assessments included weight and waist circumference measures and data on violence, health outcomes, and confounders. At baseline, 8.6% Caucasian, 10.8% African American, 9.2% Chinese, and 5.0% Japanese women reported violence and traumatic stress. Reporting violence and traumatic stress during follow-up was significantly associated with weight gain (odds ratio [OR] = 2.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.28-4.47]), weight loss (OR = 3.54, 95% CI = [1.73-7.22]), and gain (OR = 2.44, 95% CI = [1.37-4.37]) or loss (OR = 2.66, 95% CI = [1.23-5.77]) in waist circumference, adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, education, marital status, and smoking. Violence and traumatic stress against midlife women were associated with gains or losses in weight and waist circumference.
authors.affiliation: University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Lihong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rasor
authors.forename: Cari Jo
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Joyce
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bromberger
authors.forename: Ellen B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Gold
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D040921:Stress Disorders, Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology*; D055105:Waist Circumference; D015430:Weight Gain; D015431:Weight Loss; D016387:Women's Health
keywords: community violence; cultural contexts; domestic violence; violence exposure