Relationship of Adverse Childhood Experiences to Overweight and Obesity

Status unconfirmed

Conditions studied: Overweight, Obesity

In brief

The purpose of this study is to determine if there is an association between a variety of adverse childhood experiences and overweight and obesity. The adverse childhood experiences that will be examined include childhood abuse (physical, emotional, sexual), childhood neglect (physical, emotional), and household dysfunction (domestic violence, parental marital discord, and household members with a history of substance abuse, mental illness, and criminal behavior). Because this study will be performed at a military treatment facility, additional military unique experiences to include frequent residential mobility and parental deployment will also be examined. Hypotheses/Research Questions: Overweight and obese young adults are more likely to report having experienced adverse childhood experiences and household dysfunction than their peers of normal weight. In addition, the more severely overweight or obese the patient, the more likely the patient is to report a higher number of previous adverse childhood experiences. Thus, there is a graded relationship between the severity of overweight/obesity and the number of adverse childhood experiences.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT00632346

Run by

Brooke Army Medical Center

People needed

200

Starts

2007-09-01

Expected to finish

2008-02-01

Last updated by the study team

2008-03-10

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 23. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• All patients presenting to the Adolescent Medicine clinic during the study period,
• both male and female,
• between the ages of 18 and 23 years of age,
• will be identified for possible participation in the study regardless of their health status, race, or body habitus.

You may not qualify if…

• Only patients 18 years of age or older will be identified for possible participation in this study because such patients are not minors and could participate without parental consent.
• In addition, the questions from the questionnaire obtained from the Centers for Disease Control have only been assessed for reliability and validity in patients older than 18 years of age, and the questions are worded with the beginning phrase "During the first 18 years of life…"
• Lastly, requiring parental consent when inquiring about household dysfunction and a prior history of abuse would likely result in selection bias based on a higher number of subjects declining to participate. It is likely that more subjects will answer the questions truthfully if parental consent for participation is not required.
• Therefore, inclusion of younger patients would be a detriment to the scientific merit of the study, thus patients younger than age 18 will be excluded.
• The Brooke Army Medical Center Adolescent Medicine Clinic generally only serves patients 12-23 years of age. Therefore, patients above the age of 23 years will also be excluded.

Where it is running

• Adolescent Medicine Clinic, Brooke Army Medical Center — Fort Sam Houston, Texas, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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