title: Lifetime Socioeconomic Status and Late-life Health Trajectories: Longitudinal Results From the Mexican Health and Aging Study.
abstract: This article examines the association between childhood and adult socioeconomic status (SES) and late-life health trajectories for older adults in Mexico.
  
  
  
  Data are from the Mexican Health and Aging Study, a panel survey that began with a nationally representative sample of Mexican adults 50 years and older at baseline (2001), with follow-up in 2003 and 2012. We use a hierarchical repeated measures model to estimate the relationship between SES and depressive symptoms, functional limitations, and self-rated health, respectively. We tested both discrete measures of SES in childhood and adulthood, as well as a combined indicator of lifetime SES.
  
  
  
  Childhood SES was significantly associated with later-life health trajectories net of adulthood SES indicators. Adult SES was significantly associated with late-life health trajectories, with some differences by gender and outcome. There were significant SES disparities in health outcomes over the 11-year study period. However, there were no significant multiplicative interactions between SES and age, which would have indicated either diminishing or widening SES health disparities with age.
  
  
  
  Socioeconomic disparities in health appear to persist into old age in the Mexican context. Efforts to reduce late-life health disparities in Mexico should target socioeconomic and material conditions across the life course.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health and Community, University of California, San Francisco.
authors.forename: Jacqueline M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, University of California, Riverside.
authors.forename: Shemra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, Sealy Center on Aging, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston.
authors.forename: Rebeca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012923:Social Class
keywords: Aging; Cumulative disadvantage; Health trajectories; MHAS; Mental health; Mexico; Socioeconomic status