Body mass index trajectory throughout adolescence: a comparison of maltreated adolescents by maltreatment type to a community sample.
BACKGROUND
Childhood maltreatment is associated with adult obesity, but there is conflicting evidence regarding the relationship between childhood maltreatment and obesity during adolescence.


OBJECTIVES
To compare the body mass index (BMI) trajectory of adolescents with a specific type of maltreatment (sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse or neglect) to adolescents with another type of maltreatment (maltreated sample n = 303) and to a comparison group (n = 151).


METHODS
Individual growth models were used to estimate average growth trajectories of BMI percentile separately by sex (ages 9 to 22 years). Unconditional and conditional linear and quadratic growth models were estimated and maltreatment types were added before including covariates (ethnicity, anxiety, depression and pubertal stage).


RESULTS
BMI growth trajectories of sexually abused girls and neglected girls were significantly different from comparison girls. Comparison girls had a growth trajectory that reached its apex at 15 years and then began to decline, whereas sexually abused girls and neglected girls had lower BMI than comparison girls until age 16-17 years when their BMI was higher than comparison girls.


CONCLUSIONS
Late adolescence appears to be the developmental period during which differences in BMI percentiles become pronounced between girls with sexual abuse or with neglect vs. comparison girls.
['Schneiderman|J U|JU|', 'Negriff|S|S|', 'Peckins|M|M|', 'Mennen|F E|FE|', 'Trickett|P K|PK|']
D000293:Adolescent D001007:Anxiety D015992:Body Mass Index D002648:Child D002649:Child Abuse D003863:Depression D004644:Emotions D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008137:Longitudinal Studies D008297:Male D009765:Obesity D015995:Prevalence D011446:Prospective Studies D011627:Puberty D014481:United States D055815:Young Adult
Body mass index trajectory sexual abuse neglect female adolescents