Socioeconomic inequality of overweight and obesity of the elderly in Iran: Bushehr Elderly Health (BEH) Program

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Gita Shafiee¹  Ramin Heshmat¹  Farshad Sharifi¹  Neda Mehrdad²  Bagher Larijani³  Mohammadbagher Mehboudi⁴  Alireza Raeisi⁴  Afshin Ostovar⁴  Iraj Nabipour⁴  Hossein Darabi⁴ 

[1] Chronic Diseases Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;Elderly Health Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;Endocrinology & Metabolism Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;The Persian Gulf Tropical Medicine Research Center, The Persian Gulf Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Po box: 7514763448, Imam Khomaini Street, Bushehr, Iran;

关键词: Obesity;    Overweight;    Socioeconomic Status;    Elderly;    Iran;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-016-3912-1

 received in 2016-07-02, accepted in 2016-12-07,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe objective of this population-based, large sample size study was to investigate the socioeconomic inequality of overweight and obesity among the elderly in Iran.MethodsBaseline data of 3000 persons aged ≥60 years who participated in the Bushehr Elderly Health (BEH) program was analyzed. Overweight and obesity were defined as a body mass index (BMI) equal to or higher than 25 and 30, respectively. Socioeconomic status (SES) was measured by an asset index, constructed using principal component analysis, income, education level, and employment status. The Concentration Index and the Lorenz curve were used to illustrate the levels of inequality for overweight and obesity by gender.ResultsThe frequencies among men and women were, respectively, 840 (57.7%) and 1131 (73.2%), P < 0.001, for overweight, and 211 (14.7%) and 511 (33.7%), P < 0.001, for obesity. There were direct associations between asset index quintiles and both overweight and obesity among both genders (Ps for trend <0.01) except for obesity among men (P for trend = 0.118). The overall Concentration Indices for overweight and obesity were 0.031 (95%CI = 0.016–0.046, P < 0.001) and 0.041 (95%CI = 0.004–0.078, p = 0.028), respectively.ConclusionFindings support the direct relationship between SES and obesity among women as previously reported in developing countries.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017