Childhood abuse is associated with adiposity in midlife women: possible pathways through trait anger and reproductive hormones

To examine the association between childhood abuse/neglect and central adiposity and obesity in a sample of 311 women (n = 106 black, 205 white) from the Pittsburgh site of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). SWAN included a baseline measurement of women in midlife (mean age = 45.7 years) and eight follow-up visits during which waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) were measured. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire retrospectively assessed emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, and emotional and physical neglect in childhood. Analyses of covariance showed that women with a history of any abuse/neglect, and specifically physical and sexual abuse, had significantly higher WC and BMI at baseline than women with no abuse history. A significant interaction between abuse and BMI showed that among women with BMI of