Metabolic Consequences of Adverse Social Transitions among Aging Adults: A Gender-Sensitive Prospective Study of the...

Social connections impact morbidity and mortality, yet their influence on waist circumference (WC) and potential gender differences remains unclear.

Prospective study of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA, 2011-2021) on changes in marital status, living arrangements, and social participation (baseline to follow-up 1) in relation to changes in WC (follow-up 1 to follow-up 2) used stratified, multivariable random coefficient regression with post-estimated predicted means. Sample sizes varied: 13,941 participants for marital and living arrangement transitions and 13,921 for changes in social participation.

Mean WC declined over time in aging cisgender heterosexual women and men in Canada. We found genders-specific associations between changes in different social connections changes in mean WC. Among women, decreased social participation was significantly associated with changes in WC (0.47 cm; 95 confidence interval [CI], 0.11 to 0.83), compared to women with stable social participation. Among men, becoming divorced was significantly associated with changes in WC (1.45 cm; 95% CI, 0.14 to 2.75), compared to men remained partnered. Women who decreased their social participation had a predicted mean WC of 87.61 cm (95% CI, 87.14 to 88.09), and men who became divorced had a predicted mean WC of 100.54 cm (95% CI, 99.17 to 101.91). Results for living arrangement changes were not significant, though patterned appeared gendered. All social connection transitions were associated with clinically meaningful predicted mean WC, placing both women and men with altered connections in the 'high risk' category for poor health outcomes.

Decreased social participation increased WC among cisgender heterosexual women, whereas becoming divorced increased WC among cisgender heterosexual men in Canada.