Abdominal adiposity and family income-to-poverty ratio in American women

SummaryObjectiveWe examined (a) secular changes in abdominal fat accumulation (AFA) and family income-to-poverty ratio (PIR) across race/ethnicity, education and age in Mexican (MA), non-Hispanic Whites (NHW), non-Hispanic Black (NHB), and (b) association between PIR and AFA among American women.MethodsData (n = 9787) from 2001–2002 to 2009–2010 NHANES were used. Rates of AFA and poverty by race/ethnic, age and education categories were determined across study time points. Subjects with low and medium PIR values were classified as poor. Linear trends in AFA and PIR were evaluated. Study time-specific odds ratios (OR) from logistic regression models were used to estimate risk of AFA due to low to medium PIR. Statistical adjustments were made for race/ethnicity, education, age, and marital status.ResultsIncreased trends in low to medium PIR and AFA in MA, NHW, and NHB American women were observed between 2001 and 2010. Poor women had much higher prevalence of AFA compared to richer women. For each of the studied periods, medium and low PIR were each associated with increased odds of AFA. The association between poverty and AFA was weakest in 2001–2002 (OR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.05–2.11) compared to 2009–2010 (OR = 1.64, 95% CI: 1.21–2.22). Compared to NHW, being of MA and NHB race/ethnicity was also each associated with increased odds of AFA, controlling for other independent variables.ConclusionsIncrease in poverty and AFA, and positive association between decreased PIR and increased odds of AFA were observed in the period between 2001 and 2010 in MA, NHW, and NHB American women. A robust economic policy designed to alleviate poverty may be an important means of reducing the trajectory of AFA in American women.