Self-reported anthropometrics are often used as proxies for measured anthropometrics, but research has shown that heights and weights are often misreported. Using the Study on global AGEing and adult health, I analyze misreporting patterns of height, weight, and BMI in China, India, Russia, and South Africa. Adjustments of self-reported heights and weights using demographic, social, and anthropometric characteristics are evaluated and found to be useful in studying the distribution of anthropometrics within a population. Measured, self-reported, and adjusted BMI are then compared in logistic regression models on the reporting of health outcomes, as well as the resulting accuracy of individual prediction. When BMI is used as a continuous variable in models of health outcomes, measured, self-reported, and adjusted BMI produce similar coefficient estimates, and so self-reported data would be a natural choice because of its accessibility and convenience. In other applications, such as models using categorical BMI and individual prediction using either continuous or categorical BMI, self-reported data in lieu of measured data might not be accurate enough, but adjustments could serve as a potential compromise.
OBJECTIVES: Examine childhood obesity incidence across recent cohorts. METHODS: We examined obesity incidence and prevalence across 2 cohorts of children in the United States 12 years apart using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies, parallel data sets following the kindergarten cohorts of 1998 and 2010 with direct anthropometric measurements at multiple time points through fifth grade in 2004 and 2016, respectively. We investigated annualized incidence rate and cumulative incidence proportion of obesity (BMI z-score ≥95th percentile based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention weight-for-age z-scores). RESULTS: Among children who did not have obesity at kindergarten entry, there was a 4.5% relative increase in cumulative incidence of new obesity cases by end of fifth grade across cohorts (15.5% [14.1%–16.9%] vs 16.2% [15.0%–17.3%]), though annual incidence did not change substantially. The risk of incident obesity for children who had normal BMI at kindergarten entry stayed the same, but the risk of incident obesity among overweight kindergartners increased slightly. Social disparities in obesity incidence expanded: incidence of new cases during primary school among non-Hispanic Black children increased by 29% (95% confidence interval, 25%–34%), whereas risk for other race–ethnic groups plateaued or decreased. Children from the most socioeconomically disadvantaged households experienced 15% higher cumulative incidence across primary school in 2010 than 1998. CONCLUSIONS: Incidence of childhood obesity was higher, occurred at younger ages, and was more severe than 12 years previous; thus, more youths may now be at risk for health consequences associated with early onset of obesity.
BACKGROUND: Ocrelizumab (OCR) is the only disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for both relapsing and primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). OCR is given by intravenous (IV) infusion twice a year, which may improve adherence to the dosing schedule relative to other MS DMTs that require more frequent administration. Real-world evidence on the persistence and adherence of patients with MS to OCR compared with other DMTs is limited.
BackgroundLess developed countries are increasingly afflicted with over–nutrition, and the escalating overweight prevalence has become a global problem. However, a problem as global as this may not be amenable to a general set of remedial interventions applicable to all countries.MethodsI use data from various sources, including the World Health Organization and the World Bank, to test the association of overweight prevalence with economic, social, and demographic indicators. I then split the countries up by human development index to investigate to what extent these associations vary between development levels.FindingsOn a global scale, overweight prevalence is most associated with gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, the proportion of a country that is rural, the proportion of elderly in a country's population, and the average years of schooling. At what magnitude, and even in which direction, these relationships go vary with a country's level of development. Generally, GDP per capita has a positive association with overweight prevalence, with the magnitude of such association for countries of very high human development more than twice of that for countries of low human development. However, proportion rural has a negative association with overweight prevalence, with the magnitude of such association for countries of low human development nearly twice of that for countries of very high human development. All four of these variables have statistically significant association with overweight prevalence in countries with low human development.ConclusionsI make policy suggestions to combat increasing overweight prevalence, based on the models that are developed, paying special attention to the differences in magnitude and direction of the regressors between human development levels.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.