Childhood social and economic well-being and health in older age.
Childhood socioeconomic status (SES) acts over a lifetime to influence adult health outcomes. Whether the impact of childhood SES differs by age or race/ethnicity is unclear. The authors studied 20,566 community-living US adults aged > or =50 years. Parental education was the main predictor. Outcomes evaluated (1998-2002) included self-reported health and functional limitation. The influence of childhood SES on later-life health was also examined in groups stratified by age and race/ethnicity, with adjustment for demographic factors and current SES. Participants' mean age was 67 years; 57% were women. By race/ethnicity, 76% were White, 14% were Black, and 8% were Latino. The relation between low parental education and fair/poor self-rated health declined with advancing age (age 50-64 years: adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.42, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.24, 1.63; age > or =80 years: AOR = 1.14, 95% CI: 0.96, 1.36). The relation between low parental education and fair/poor self-rated health differed across racial/ethnic groups and was significant in White (AOR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.21, 1.47) and Black (AOR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.64) participants but not Latinos. These findings suggest that childhood SES affects health status through midlife but the effects may abate in late life; its effects also may be weaker in Latinos than in Whites or Blacks.
Moody-Ayers
Sandra
S
San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA. sandra.moody@va.gov
Lindquist
Karla
K
Sen
Saunak
S
Covinsky
Kenneth E
KE
D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011203:Poverty; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012495:San Francisco / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data