title: Association between Elder Abuse and Metabolic Syndromes: Findings from the Chicago Health and Aging Project.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Elder abuse and metabolic syndromes are both important public health issues and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to examine the associations between elder abuse and risk for metabolic syndromes.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP) cohort is a population-based study (n = 4,586). We identified 676 participants with some form of elder abuse reported to a social services agency. The primary independent variable was elder abuse reported to a social services agency. Outcomes were metabolic syndrome as categorized by World Health Organization (WHO), American Heart Association (AHA) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association between elder abuse and different definitions of metabolic syndromes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the bivariate analyses, elder abuse victims were more likely than those without elder abuse to have metabolic syndromes [22.4 vs. 10.7% (WHO), 50.7 vs. 40.0% (AHA) and 47.7 vs. 33.5% (IDF)]. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, elder abuse was associated with an increased risk for metabolic syndromes according to WHO [OR, 3.95 (2.86-5.47)], AHA [OR, 2.03 (1.56-2.64)] and IDF [OR, 2.55 (1.97-3.29)] criteria. Interaction term analyses indicate that the association between elder abuse and metabolic syndromes may be moderated by sociodemographic characteristics but not by health-related or psychosocial factors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Elder abuse is associated with an increased risk for metabolic syndromes. Research is needed to examine the association between elder abuse and cardiovascular disease.
authors.affiliation: Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Ill., USA.
authors.forename: XinQi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simon
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002641:Chicago / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004552:Elder Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors