A pooled analysis of body mass index and mortality among African Americans.

Pubmed ID: 25401742

Pubmed Central ID: PMC4234271

Journal: PloS one

Publication Date: Jan. 1, 2014

Affiliation: Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.

MeSH Terms: Public Health Surveillance, Young Adult, Cause of Death, Mortality, Obesity, African Americans, Body Mass Index, Follow-Up Studies, Male, Aged, 80 and over, Adult, Aged, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Proportional Hazards Models, Prospective Studies, Cohort Studies, Risk Factors

Grants: 3R01 CA092447-08S1, P30 DK092986, R01 CA94594, R01 CA058420, R01 CA092447, R37 CA54281

Authors: Cohen SS, Singh P, Bethea TN, Park SY, Knutsen SF, Gillanders E, Gapstur S, Monroe KR, Palmer JR, Boggs DA, Black A, Matthews CE, Signorello LB, Blot WJ, Kitahara CM, Berrington de Gonzalez A, Harvey C, Hartge P, Purdue MP, Patel AV, Park Y, Kolonel LN, Fraser G

Cite As: Cohen SS, Park Y, Signorello LB, Patel AV, Boggs DA, Kolonel LN, Kitahara CM, Knutsen SF, Gillanders E, Monroe KR, Berrington de Gonzalez A, Bethea TN, Black A, Fraser G, Gapstur S, Hartge P, Matthews CE, Park SY, Purdue MP, Singh P, Harvey C, Blot WJ, Palmer JR. A pooled analysis of body mass index and mortality among African Americans. PloS one. 2014.

Related Projects:

African American Working Group

Abstract

Pooled analyses among whites and East Asians have demonstrated positive associations between all-cause mortality and body mass index (BMI), but studies of African Americans have yielded less consistent results. We examined the association between BMI and all-cause mortality in a sample of African Americans pooled from seven prospective cohort studies: NIH-AARP, 1995-2009; Adventist Health Study 2, 2002-2008; Black Women's Health Study, 1995-2009; Cancer Prevention Study II, 1982-2008; Multiethnic Cohort Study, 1993-2007; Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Screening Trial, 1993-2009; Southern Community Cohort Study, 2002-2009. 239,526 African Americans (including 100,175 never smokers without baseline heart disease, stroke, or cancer), age 30-104 (mean 52) and 71% female, were followed up to 26.5 years (mean 11.7). Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for mortality were derived from multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. Among healthy, never smokers (11,386 deaths), HRs (CI) for BMI 25-27.4, 27.5-29.9, 30-34.9, 35-39.9, 40-49.9, and 50-60 kg/m(2) were 1.02 (0.92-1.12), 1.06 (0.95-1.18), 1.32 (1.18-1.47), 1.54 (1.29-1.83), 1.93 (1.46-2.56), and 1.93 (0.80-4.69), respectively among men and 1.06 (0.99-1.15), 1.15 (1.06-1.25), 1.24 (1.15-1.34), 1.58 (1.43-1.74), 1.80 (1.60-2.02), and 2.31 (1.74-3.07) respectively among women (reference category 22.5-24.9). HRs were highest among those with the highest educational attainment, longest follow-up, and for cardiovascular disease mortality. Obesity was associated with a higher risk of mortality in African Americans, similar to that observed in pooled analyses of whites and East Asians. This study provides compelling evidence to support public health efforts to prevent excess weight gain and obesity in African Americans.

Last Updated: 14 Mar, 2025