Differences in Body Mass Index Trajectories and Their Classification, Sociodemographic Characteristics, and Health Behaviors between People with and without Disabilities Using Korea Health Panel Survey Data

A high body mass index (BMI) is an important factor that negatively affects the health of people with disabilities. In particular, since the high BMI has a cumulative effect on the occurrence of complications such as cardiovascular disease, it is required to investigate the data through longitudinal studies rather than cross-sectional studies. Therefore, we conducted a longitudinal follow-up study to examine the differences in the BMI trajectories of people in South Korea with disabilities, as well as the sociodemographic characteristics and health behaviors that classify individual trajectories into clusters. Participants aged 40 to 79 years who responded to the Korea Health Panel Survey (KHPS) from 2009 to 2018, 283 people with physical disabilities or brain lesion disorders, and 849 people without disabilities, were extracted. We found that the differences in the initial BMI between clusters were larger in 60–79-year-old people with disabilities (men 22.5 kg/m(2), 26.9 kg/m(2); women 23.8 kg/m(2), 28.1 kg/m(2)) than in those without disabilities (men 22.1 kg/m(2), 23.3 kg/m(2); women 24.8 kg/m(2), 25.6 kg/m(2)). Also, logistic regression analysis showed that, among the people with disabilities, women (OR = 1.94), those who lived alone (OR = 2.36), and those who were economically inactive (OR = 1.78) were more likely to be classified into the higher BMI category than those who were not. To effectively manage the BMI, it would be better to focus on women with disabilities, people with disabilities living alone, and people who are economically inactive.