Poverty grown up: how childhood socioeconomic status impacts adult health.
Socioeconomic status and health status are directly related across the world. Children with low-socioeconomic status not only experience greater health problems in childhood but also aspects of their socioeconomic status become biologically incorporated through both critical periods of development and cumulative effects, leading to poor health outcomes as adults. We explore 3 main influences related to child's socioeconomic status that impact long-term health: the material environment, the social environment, and the structural or community environment. These influences illustrate the importance of clinical innovations, health services research, and public policies that address the socioeconomic determinants of these distal health outcomes.
Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA. kathleen.conroy@bmc.org
Kathleen
K
Conroy
Megan
M
Sandel
Barry
B
Zuckerman
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D006304:Health Status; D006803:Human Development; D006801:Humans; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011203:Poverty / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors