Objectives: Early obesity onset is a risk factor for specific comorbidities in adulthood, but whether this relationship is present in men and women with severe obesity is unknown. This study aimed to examine whether obesity onset in childhood or adolescence, as compared with adulthood, is associated with higher odds of comorbidities in men and women with severe obesity.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of treatment-seeking men and women with severe obesity attending a tertiary care centre in Norway, from 2006 to 2017, was performed.
Results: A total of 4,583 participants (69.13% women) were included. Almost all men (99.69%) and women (99.18%) suffered from ≥1 comorbidities. Compared with women, men were older (mean [SD]) (45.54 [12.14] vs. 42.56 [12.00] years, p < 0.001) and had higher body mass index (44.06 [6.16] vs. 43.39 [5.80] kg m-2, p < 0.001). The most prevalent comorbidities were non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, dyslipidaemia and hypertension among men and dyslipidaemia, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and joint pain among women. After current age and body mass index were adjusted, childhood onset of obesity (0-11 years), compared with adult onset (>20 years), was associated with lower odds (OR [95% CI]) of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in men (0.69 [0.53, 0.91], p < 0.01) and higher odds of OSA (1.49 [1.16, 1.91], p < 0.01) in women, and the interaction was significant (p < 0.01). Childhood onset of obesity was also associated with higher odds of coronary heart disease in men (1.82 [1.15, 2.89], p = 0.01) and type 2 diabetes in women (1.25 [1.01, 1.54], p = 0.04).
Conclusion: Childhood onset of obesity was associated with higher odds of coronary heart disease in men and OSA and type 2 diabetes in women, but with lower odds of OSA in men.
Keywords: Comorbidity; gender; obesity; obesity onset.