SOCIOECONOMIC INFLUENCES ON LATE-LIFE BODY MASS INDEX: A STUDY OF SWEDISH TWINS

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between socioeconomic status (SES) at two time points (childhood social class and own educational attainment) and body mass index (BMI) in late life in a genetically informative sample. We used data from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging (SATSA) with information on SES and longitudinal measurements of BMI spanning from age 50 to age 96 (n=859). Mixed models showed that childhood and adult SES were independently negatively associated with BMI at the centering ages of 65 and 80. In between–within twin-pair analyses of the reared apart twins (n=425) the between-pair effect of both SES measures was significant, whereas within-pair estimates were attenuated, indicating genetic confounding. These findings point to the importance of both childhood and adult SES on late life BMI. However, the association seems to reflect in part genetic confounding.