TY - JOUR
T1 - The association of education with body mass index and waist circumference in the EPIC-PANACEA study
AU - Hermann, Silke
AU - Rohrmann, Sabine
AU - Linseisen, Jakob
AU - May, Anne M.
AU - Kunst, Anton
AU - Besson, Herve
AU - Romaguera, Dora
AU - Travier, Noemie
AU - Tormo, Maria Jose
AU - Molina, Esther
AU - Dorronsoro, Miren
AU - Barricarte, Aurelio
AU - Rodríguez, Laudina
AU - Crowe, Francesca L.
AU - Khaw, Kay Tee
AU - Wareham, Nicholas J.
AU - Van Boeckel, Petra Ga
AU - Bueno-De-Mesquita, H. Bas
AU - Overvad, Kim
AU - Jakobsen, Marianne Uhre
AU - Tjønneland, Anne
AU - Halkjær, Jytte
AU - Agnoli, Claudia
AU - Mattiello, Amalia
AU - Tumino, Rosario
AU - Masala, Giovanna
AU - Vineis, Paolo
AU - Naska, Androniki
AU - Orfanos, Philippos
AU - Trichopoulou, Antonia
AU - Kaaks, Rudolf
AU - Bergmann, Manuela M.
AU - Steffen, Annika
AU - Van Guelpen, Bethany
AU - Johansson, Ingegerd
AU - Borgquist, Signe
AU - Manjer, Jonas
AU - Braaten, Tonje
AU - Fagherazzi, Guy
AU - Clavel-Chapelon, Françoise
AU - Mouw, Traci
AU - Norat, Teresa
AU - Riboli, Elio
AU - Rinaldi, Sabina
AU - Slimani, Nadia
AU - Peeters, Petra Hm
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Background. To examine the association of education with body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Method. This study included 141,230 male and 336,637 female EPIC-participants, who were recruited between 1992 and 2000. Education, which was assessed by questionnaire, was classified into four categories; BMI and WC, measured by trained personnel in most participating centers, were modeled as continuous dependent variables. Associations were estimated using multilevel mixed effects linear regression models. Results. Compared with the lowest education level, BMI and WC were significantly lower for all three higher education categories, which was consistent for all countries. Women with university degree had a 2.1 kg/m2 lower BMI compared with women with lowest education level. For men, a statistically significant, but less pronounced difference was observed (1.3 kg/m2). The association between WC and education level was also of greater magnitude for women: compared with the lowest education level, average WC of women was lower by 5.2 cm for women in the highest category. For men the difference was 2.9 cm. Conclusion. In this European cohort, there is an inverse association between higher BMI as well as higher WC and lower education level. Public Health Programs that aim to reduce overweight and obesity should primarily focus on the lower educated population.
AB - Background. To examine the association of education with body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Method. This study included 141,230 male and 336,637 female EPIC-participants, who were recruited between 1992 and 2000. Education, which was assessed by questionnaire, was classified into four categories; BMI and WC, measured by trained personnel in most participating centers, were modeled as continuous dependent variables. Associations were estimated using multilevel mixed effects linear regression models. Results. Compared with the lowest education level, BMI and WC were significantly lower for all three higher education categories, which was consistent for all countries. Women with university degree had a 2.1 kg/m2 lower BMI compared with women with lowest education level. For men, a statistically significant, but less pronounced difference was observed (1.3 kg/m2). The association between WC and education level was also of greater magnitude for women: compared with the lowest education level, average WC of women was lower by 5.2 cm for women in the highest category. For men the difference was 2.9 cm. Conclusion. In this European cohort, there is an inverse association between higher BMI as well as higher WC and lower education level. Public Health Programs that aim to reduce overweight and obesity should primarily focus on the lower educated population.
KW - BMI
KW - cohort study
KW - education
KW - EPIC
KW - socioeconomic status
KW - waist circumference
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U2 - 10.1186/1471-2458-11-169
DO - 10.1186/1471-2458-11-169
M3 - Article
C2 - 21414225
AN - SCOPUS:79952695573
SN - 1471-2458
VL - 11
JO - BMC Public Health
JF - BMC Public Health
M1 - 169
ER -