(P31-035-23) The Effects of Social Tie Transitions on Obesity Risk in Aging Populations: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies

Objectives: The study aimed to examine the impact of social tie transitions on obesity risk in aging women and men.

Methods: Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL and ProQuest were systematically searched (up to November 2022). Longitudinal studies of obesity risk assessing change in social ties were included. Data were extracted and synthesized narratively.

Results: Searches resulted in 41,906 eligible non-duplicate titles. Preliminary screening of EMBASE & Medline (20,427 titles) led to 162 eligible full-texts, with 2 relevant papers from the United States. Included studies focused on marital transitions and showed that becoming married led to a significant increase in the Body Mass Index (BMI) of women compared to those remaining non-married or remained married, depending on study-specific reference groups. One of the studies observed that women who transitioned out of marriage had significantly lower BMI compared to those who remained married. Another study showed that the transition out of marriage through widowhood led to a significant decrease in men's BMI after 2-4 years compared to those who remained married, while transition out of marriage through divorce did not lead to significant change in the BMI of women or men. No eligible study was found regarding living arrangement, social participation and social networks. Both included studies were of medium quality.

Conclusions: This preliminary review suggests there is limited evidence on the longitudinal link between social ties and obesity risk. Some research indicates that becoming married increases BMI and leads to weight gain, whereas entering non-married categories reduced obesity. Much less is known about the role of other social ties for obesity risk.

Funding Sources: CIHR