The objective of this study was to determine the association of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference with a quality of life (QoL) indicator designed for older ages (CASP19), and with depressive symptoms assessed by the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. The study sample included 8,688 individuals aged ≥52 years who were participants of Wave 2 (2004-2005) and Wave 3 (2006-2007) of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA). Cross-sectional analyses revealed that for a given level of BMI, an increased waist circumference was negatively associated with QoL among older men and women and with higher odds of depressive symptoms for women only. However, for a given waist circumference value, an increased BMI was not significantly associated with QoL or depressive symptoms in men but was positively associated with QoL and negatively with depressive symptoms in women. In the longitudinal analyses, results revealed that for a given BMI, an increased waist circumference at Wave 2 was associated with lower QoL and higher risk of depressive symptoms at Wave 3 for women. In contrast, for a given waist circumference in women, an increased BMI at baseline was positively associated with QoL and lower odds of depressive symptoms in Wave 3. No associations were found between QoL or depressive symptoms at Wave 3 and BMI or waist circumference at baseline for men. Thus, these results suggest that among older people, abdominal obesity is associated with a reduced quality of life in both men and women as well as depression only for women, whereas increased BMI has a "protective" role on QoL for women.
Documentation centre