Table 3.
Direction of association reported between socioeconomic position in childhood and body composition in adulthood, presented in narrative form.
| Paper | Country | N | SEP measure and time of measurement | Body composition measure and age | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agha (2013) [26] | USA | F: 228 M: 172 | Prenatal SEI | Android FM, Android-to-Gynoid Ratio, Trunk to Limb FM Ratio Age: 48 | Inverse associations between prenatal SEI and android FM, android-to-gynoid ratio and trunk to limb FM ratio in females with adjustment for age, race and maternal variables. No association in males |
| Bann (2014) [33] | UK | M: 746 F: 812 | Occupational Social Class (age 4) Mothers and Fathers Education (age 6) | FMI, ASMI, Android-to-Gynoid Ratio Age: 60-64 | All three childhood SEP measures were significantly (P < 0.05) related to FMI and android-to-gynoid ratio in men and women, and significantly associated with appendicular lean mass index in men before adjustment for fat mass, but not in women. Following adjustment for fat mass, the association with appendicular lean mass index was significant in women but not men. Own education and adult SEP may explain part of the association between paternal education age 6 and appendicular lean mass index in women, and FMI in men |
| Lahmann (2000a) [52] | Sweden | 5145 | Parental Occupation (recalled) | FM% Age: 45–73 | Only tested in women—inverse association with parental occupational class and FM% |
| Lewin (2014) [54] | France | 4079 | Parental Education (recalled) | FMI and FM% Age: 30–79 | Significant slightly inverse association between parental education and FM% in males. Association between parental education and FM% not reported for females as insignificant. Significant associations in both males and females between parental education and FMI, with lowest FMI in highest parental education group. Stronger effect in women |
| Loucks (2016) [56] | USA | 394 | Childhood SEI (age 7) | Android Fat Age: 47 | Curvilinear association between childhood SEI and android fat—those in middle tertile of android fat tended to be from the most advantaged position |
| Pirila (2012) [61] | Finland | 158 | Fathers Education (recalled) | FM% z score, LM, % Trunk Fat Age: 32 | No direct association between father’s education and FM% z score. Indirect pathways through own education and physical activity levels. Similar for % Trunk Fat. Evidence of direct association between father’s education and LM |
| Yliharsila (2007) [72] | Finland | M: 928 F: 1075 | Childhood Social Class (derived from multiple points in childhood, highest record taken) | FM%, LM Age: 61.5 | Lower FM% was associated with higher social class (males P < 0.001, females P = 0.031). No results reported for social class and lean mass—assumed to be insignificant |
Results are presented in narrative form due to the small number of papers looking at socioeconomic position (SEP) in childhood and body composition in adulthood, and because of heterogeneity in SEP measures and body composition outcomes, preventing direct comparisons between studies.
M male, F female, SEP socioeconomic position, FM fat mass, FMI Fat Mass Index, ASMI Appendicular Skeletal Muscle Index, LM lean mass.