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The association between body mass index and health-related quality of life: data from CaMos, a stratified population study

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Abstract

Background

Deviation from normal weight is associated with health risks, but less is known about the association between weight and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). We investigated this in the context of a population-based study, using a standard five-category weight classification system based on body mass index (BMI).

Methods

The Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study is a randomly selected sample of men and women over 25 years of age from nine centres across Canada. Data were obtained by interview, and height and weight were measured and used to calculate BMI. HRQOL was measured using the SF-36. Multivariable linear regression was used to identify the association between BMI category and SF-36 scores after controlling for potential confounders.

Results

Complete data were available for 6302 women and 2792 men. Mean BMI for every age and gender group exceeded healthy weight guidelines. For women, being underweight, overweight or obese was associated with poorer HRQOL in most SF-36 outcomes while for men, this was associated with poorer HRQOL in some domains and with higher HRQOL in others.

Conclusions

A significant proportion of the population may be putting their health at risk due to excess weight, which may have a substantial negative effect on HRQOL, particularly in women. This underscores the need for continued public health efforts aimed at combating overweight and obesity.

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Abbreviations

HRQOL:

Health-related quality of life

SF-36:

Medical Outcomes Trust 36-item Health Survey

BMI:

Body mass index

CaMos :

Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study

PCS:

Physical component summary of the SF-36

MCS:

Mental component summary of the SF-36

DXA:

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

BMD:

Bone mineral density

CI:

Confidence interval

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Acknowledgements

CaMos was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Merck Frosst Canada Ltd., Eli Lilly Canada Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals Inc., The Alliance: Safoni-Aventis & Procter and Gamble Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., The Dairy Farmers of Canada, The Arthritis Society. None of the funding agencies were directly involved in the design or conduct of the study, the collection, management, analysis or interpretation of the data, or the preparation, review or approval of the manuscript. The authors thank all the participants in the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Research Centre, Kingston General Hospital, Angada 4, K7L 2V7, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Wilma M. Hopman

  2. Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Wilma M. Hopman & Tanveer Towheed

  3. CaMos Methods Centre, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Claudie Berger & Yongjun Gao

  4. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Lawrence Joseph

  5. Human Nutrition, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Susan I. Barr

  6. Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Jerilynn C. Prior

  7. CaMos National Coordinating Centre, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Suzette Poliquin

  8. Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Tanveer Towheed & Tassos Anastassiades

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  1. Wilma M. Hopman
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CaMos Research Group

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wilma M. Hopman.

Additional information

CaMos Research Group: CaMos Coordinating Centre, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec: David Goltzman (principal investigator), Alan Tenenhouse (principal investigator emeritus), Suzette Poliquin (national coordinator), Suzanne Godmaire (research assistant), Claudie Berger (study statistician).

Memorial University, St. John’s Newfoundland: Carol Joyce (director), Christopher Kovacs (co-director), Emma Sheppard (coordinator).

Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia: Susan Kirkland, Stephanie Kaiser (co-directors), Barbara Stanfield (coordinator).

Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec: Jacques P. Brown (director), Louis Bessette (co-director), Marc Gendreau (coordinator).

Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario: Tassos Anastassiades (director), Tanveer Towheed (co-director), Barbara Matthews (coordinator).

University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario: Bob Josse (director), Tim Murray (co-director), Barbara Gardner-Bray (coordinator), Nancy Kreiger (principal investigator).

McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario: Jonathan D. Adachi (director), Alexandra Papaioannou (co-director), Laura Pickard (coordinator).

University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Wojciech P. Olszynski (director), K. Shawn Davison (co-director), Jola Thingvold (coordinator).

University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta: David A. Hanley (director), Jane Allan (coordinator).

University British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia: Jerilynn C. Prior (director), Yvette Vigna (coordinator).

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Hopman, W.M., Berger, C., Joseph, L. et al. The association between body mass index and health-related quality of life: data from CaMos, a stratified population study. Qual Life Res 16, 1595–1603 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-007-9273-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-007-9273-6

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