scholarly journals Personality and Other Lifelong Influences on Older–Age Health and Wellbeing: Preliminary Findings in Two Scottish Samples

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 438-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathew A. Harris ◽  
Caroline E. Brett ◽  
John M. Starr ◽  
Ian J. Deary ◽  
Wendy Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Subjective Wellbeing ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Early Life Factors

Recent observations that personality traits are related to later–life health and wellbeing have inspired considerable interest in exploring the mechanisms involved. Other factors, such as cognitive ability and education, also show longitudinal influences on health and wellbeing, but it is not yet clear how all these early–life factors together contribute to later–life health and wellbeing. In this preliminary study, we assessed hypothesised relations among these variables across the life course, using structural equation modelling in a sample assessed on dependability (a personality trait related to conscientiousness) in childhood, cognitive ability and social class in childhood and older age, education, and health and subjective wellbeing in older age. Our models indicated that both health and subjective wellbeing in older age were influenced by childhood IQ and social class, via education. Some older–age personality traits mediated the effects of early–life variables, on subjective wellbeing in particular, but childhood dependability did not show significant associations. Our results therefore did not provide evidence that childhood dependability promotes older–age health and wellbeing, but did highlight the importance of other early–life factors, particularly characteristics that contribute to educational attainment. Further, personality in later life may mediate the effects of early–life factors on health and subjective wellbeing. © 2016 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology

scholarly journals Social and spatial mobility and self-reported heath in older-age: linkage of the Scottish Longitudinal Study to the Scottish Mental Survey 1947

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne Forrest ◽  
Chris Dibben ◽  
Zhiqiang Feng ◽  
Ian Deary ◽  
Frank Popham
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Social Class ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Geographic Mobility ◽  
Spatial Mobility ◽  
Ability Test

BackgroundThere is debate within the literature as to whether social mobility inflates or constrains health inequalities. The role of geographical mobility is unknown. ObjectivesWe were interested in exploring how spatial and social mobility might impact on health in older age using linked administrative and cohort data. MethodsThe Scottish Mental Survey 1947 (a 1936 birth cohort of 70,805 individuals with age 11 cognitive ability test scores) was linked to the Scottish Longitudinal Study (a semi-random sample of 5.3% of the Scottish population), and the 1939 register to obtain measures of occupation and geographical location in 1939 and 1991. We examined the movement between three geographical areas (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Other) in Scotland. Four social mobility trajectories were derived. We modelled the relationship between social and geographic mobility and likelihood of having self-reported limiting long term illness (LLTI) at age 65. FindingsThose who were geographically mobile to Edinburgh had the lowest rates of self-reported LLTI and those who remained resident in the Glasgow area had the highest rates. The lowest and highest rates of LLTI were found in the socially-static at the top and bottom of the social scale respectively, with intermediate rates seen in the upwardly and downwardly mobile. However neither social nor spatial mobility were significantly associated with health in later life in the fully adjusted model when highest educational qualifications and cognitive ability were included. Being female, having higher education qualifications and being in a higher social class in childhood and adulthood reduced the likelihood of poor health at age 65. ConclusionsAlthough both social class and geographical location were associated with the likelihood of LLTI in later life, social and spatial mobility were not, when factors such as education and cognitive ability were controlled for.

scholarly journals Early-life cognitive ability and recovery from stroke

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew Altschul ◽  
Matthew Iveson ◽  
Ian Deary
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Stroke Care ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Historic Data ◽  
The Life Course

Background In ageing populations it is increasingly important to understand what contributes to health and wellbeing in later life. Older adults in particular are prone to function-limiting health issues which impair their ability to be productive and live independently. The incidence of stroke – one of the most common morbidities among older adults – has been shown to be predicted by early-life cognitive ability, such that those with higher cognitive ability are at lower risk. However, less is known about the role that early-life cognitive ability plays in recovery from stroke. Aim Investigate the association between early-life circumstances, particularly cognitive ability, and later-life recovery from stroke. Methods Using a large sample of individuals born in Scotland in 1936, historic data from the Scottish Mental Survey 1947 will be linked to administrative and healthcare records from across the life course. Incidence of stroke can be identified using healthcare records prior to 2011, and later functional outcomes will be extracted from the Scottish Stroke Care Audit and from Scottish Censuses 2001 and 2011. Analysis Multiple regression models will be used to examine associations between early-life variables and changes in post-morbid general health and physical function among those experiencing stroke prior to 2011. Time since morbidity, number of morbidity events prior to follow-up, and severity of morbidity will be included as covariates. Analyses will be stratified by type of stroke to account for heterogeneity in aetiology, and recovery profiles will be compared between different types of stroke where possible.

scholarly journals Childhood socio-economic circumstances, cognitive function and education and later-life economic activity: linking the Scottish Mental Survey 1947 to administrative data

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-79
Author(s):  
Matthew H. Iveson ◽  
Chris Dibben ◽  
Ian J. Deary
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Childhood Cognitive Ability ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Early Life Factors

As the population ages, older adults are expected to work for longer into the life course. However, older adults experience particular problems staying economically active, even prior to reaching statutory retirement. Recent work has suggested that economic activity in midlife can be predicted by the far-reaching effects of early life, such as childhood socio-economic circumstances, cognitive ability and education. The present study investigates whether these same early-life factors predict the odds of being economically active much later in life, from age 55 to age 75. We capitalise on data linkage conducted between a subsample of the Scottish Mental Survey 1947 cohort and the Scottish Longitudinal Study, which includes three waves of national census data (1991, 2001 and 2011). The structural association between early-life factors and later-life economic activity was assessed using latent growth curve analyses conducted for males and females separately. In both males and females, the odds of being economically active decreased non-linearly across the 20-year follow-up period. For males, greater odds of being economically active at age 55 were predicted by higher childhood cognitive ability and higher educational attainment. For females, greater odds of being economically active at age 55 were predicted by higher childhood socio-economic status and higher childhood cognitive ability. In contrast, early-life factors did not predict the odds of becoming inactive over the 20-year follow-up period. We suggest that early-life advantage may contribute to the capacity for work in later life, but that it does not necessarily protect from subsequent decline in this capacity.

scholarly journals Early-life circumstances and the risk of function-limiting long-term conditions in later life

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-180
Author(s):  
Matthew H. Iveson ◽  
Chris Dibben ◽  
Ian J. Deary
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Functional Limitation ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
Childhood Cognitive Ability ◽  
The Life Course

Older adults are particularly prone to function-limiting health issues that adversely affect their well-being. Previous work has identified factors from across the life course –childhood socio-economic status, childhood cognitive ability and education – that predict later-life functional outcomes. However, the independence of these contributions is unclear as later-in-the-life-course predictors are themselves affected by earlier ones. The present study capitalised on the recent linkage of the Scottish Mental Survey 1947 with the Scottish Longitudinal Study, using path analyses to examine the direct and indirect associations between life-course predictors and the risk of functional limitation at ages 55 (N = 2,374), 65 (N = 1,971) and 75 (N = 1,534). The odds of reporting a function-limiting long-term condition increased across later life. At age 55, reporting a functional limitation was significantly less likely in those with higher childhood socio-economic status, higher childhood cognitive ability and higher educational attainment; these associations were only partly mediated by other predictors. At age 65, adult socio-economic status emerged as a mediator of several associations, although direct associations with childhood socio-economic status and childhood cognitive ability were still observed. At age 75, only childhood socio-economic status and adult socio-economic status directly predicted the risk of a functional limitation, particularly those associated with disease or illness. A consistent pattern and direction of associations was observed with self-rated health more generally. These results demonstrate that early-life and adult circumstances are associated with functional limitations later in life, but that these associations are partly a product of complex mediation between life-course factors.

What role for the ‘long arm of childhood’ in social gradients in health? An international comparison of high-income contexts

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven A. Haas ◽  
Zhangjun Zhou ◽  
Katsuya Oi
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Functional Limitation ◽  
Later Life ◽  
High Income ◽  
Childhood Health ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Early Life Factors

Social gradients in health have been a focus of research for decades. Two important lines of social gradient research have examined (1) international variation in their magnitude and (2) their life course / developmental antecedents. The present study brings these two strands together to explore the developmental origins of educational gradients in health. We leverage data spanning 14 high-income contexts from the Health and Retirement Study and its sisters in Europe. We find that early-life health and socio-economic status consistently attenuate educational gradients in multimorbidity and functional limitation. However, the relative contribution of early-life factors to gradients varies substantially across contexts. The results suggest that research on social gradients, and population health broadly, would benefit from the unique insights available from a conceptual and empirical approach that integrates comparative and life course perspectives.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>The magnitude of educational gradients in later life health depend, in part, on childhood health and socioeconomic circumstances.</li><br /><li>The role of early life factors in educational gradients in health varies substantially across high income contexts.</li></ul>

scholarly journals Secular rise in economically valuable personality traits

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (25) ◽  
pp. 6527-6532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Jokela ◽  
Tuomas Pekkarinen ◽  
Matti Sarvimäki ◽  
Marko Terviö ◽  
Roope Uusitalo
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Family Background ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Simultaneous Increase ◽  
Flynn Effect ◽  
The Family

Although trends in many physical characteristics and cognitive capabilities of modern humans are well-documented, less is known about how personality traits have evolved over time. We analyze data from a standardized personality test administered to 79% of Finnish men born between 1962 and 1976 (n = 419,523) and find steady increases in personality traits that predict higher income in later life. The magnitudes of these trends are similar to the simultaneous increase in cognitive abilities, at 0.2–0.6 SD during the 15-y window. When anchored to earnings, the change in personality traits amounts to a 12% increase. Both personality and cognitive ability have consistent associations with family background, but the trends are similar across groups defined by parental income, parental education, number of siblings, and rural/urban status. Nevertheless, much of the trends in test scores can be attributed to changes in the family background composition, namely 33% for personality and 64% for cognitive ability. These composition effects are mostly due to improvements in parents’ education. We conclude that there is a “Flynn effect” for personality that mirrors the original Flynn effect for cognitive ability in magnitude and practical significance but is less driven by compositional changes in family background.

scholarly journals Association of early- and adult-life socioeconomic circumstances with muscle strength in older age

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 398-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Cheval ◽  
Matthieu P Boisgontier ◽  
Dan Orsholits ◽  
Stefan Sieber ◽  
Idris Guessous ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Strength ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Sensitive Period ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Mixed Effect ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract Background socioeconomic circumstances (SEC) during a person’s lifespan influence a wide range of health outcomes. However, solid evidence of the association of early- and adult-life SEC with health trajectories in ageing is still lacking. This study assessed whether early-life SEC are associated with muscle strength in later life—a biomarker of health—and whether this relationship is caused by adult-life SEC and health behaviours. Methods we used data from the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe, a 12-year population-based cohort study with repeated measurement in six waves (2004–15) and retrospective collection of life-course data. Participants’ grip strength was assessed by using a handheld dynamometer. Confounder-adjusted logistic mixed-effect models were used to examine the associations of early- and adult-life SEC with the risk of low muscle strength (LMS) in older age. Results a total of 24,179 participants (96,375 observations) aged 50–96 living in 14 European countries were included in the analyses. Risk of LMS was increased with disadvantaged relative to advantaged early-life SEC. The association between risk of LMS and disadvantaged early-life SEC gradually decreased when adjusting for adult-life SEC for both sexes and with unhealthy behaviours for women. After adjusting for these factors, all associations between risk of LMS and early-life SEC remained significant for women. Conclusion early-life SEC are associated with muscle strength after adjusting for adult-life SEC and behavioural lifestyle factors, especially in women, which suggests that early life may represent a sensitive period for future health.

scholarly journals Birth weight is associated with brain tissue volumes seven decades later, but not with age-associated changes to brain structure

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily N. W. Wheater ◽  
Susan D. Shenkin ◽  
Susana Muñoz Maniega ◽  
Maria Valdés Hernández ◽  
Joanna M. Wardlaw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Birth Weight ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Brain Tissue ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Cortical Surface ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Mri Features

AbstractBirth weight, an indicator of fetal growth, is associated with cognitive outcomes in early life and risk of metabolic and cardiovascular disease across the life course. Cognitive ability in early life is predictive of cognitive ability in later life. Brain health in older age, defined by MRI features, is associated with cognitive performance. However, little is known about how variation in normal birth weight impacts on brain structure in later life. In a community dwelling cohort of participants in their early seventies we tested the hypothesis that birthweight is associated with the following MRI features: total brain (TB), grey matter (GM) and normal appearing white matter (NAWM) volumes; whiter matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume; a general factor of fractional anisotropy (gFA) and peak width skeletonised mean diffusivity (PSMD) across the white matter skeleton. We also investigated the associations of birthweight with cortical surface area, volume and thickness. Birthweight was positively associated with TB, GM and NAWM volumes in later life (β ≥ 0.194), and with regional cortical surface area but not gFA, PSMD, WMH volume, or cortical volume or thickness. These positive relationships appear to be explained by larger intracranial volume rather than by age-related tissue atrophy, and are independent of body height and weight in adulthood. This suggests that larger birthweight is linked to increased brain tissue reserve in older life, rather than a resilience to age-related changes in brain structure, such as tissue atrophy or WMH volume.Significance StatementCognitive brain ageing carries a high personal, societal and financial cost and understanding its developmental origins is important for identifying possible preventative strategies. In a sample of older participants from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 we were able to explore the neurobiological correlates of birth weight, which is indicative of the fetal experience. We find that higher birth weight is related to larger brain tissue volumes in later life, but does not modify the trajectory of age-related change. This suggests that early life growth confers preserved differentiation, rather than differential preservation with regards to brain reserve. That these effects are detectable into later life indicates that this variable may be valuable biomarker in the epidemiology of ageing.

scholarly journals Early Life Factors Predictive of Weight Status in 2 Year-Olds

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 977-977
Author(s):  
Andrew Dinsmoor ◽  
Anna Arthur ◽  
Barbara Fiese ◽  
Naiman Khan ◽  
Sharon Donovan
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Patterns ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Mode Of Delivery ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Z Score ◽  
Maternal Weight ◽  
Early Life Factors

Abstract Objectives The extent to which early life factors predict weight status by age two is unclear. This study elucidated early life factors predictive of BMI-for-age z-score (MN24 BMI) in 2-year-olds in the ongoing STRONG Kids 2 longitudinal study. Methods At registration, 6 weeks, 3, 12, 18, and 24 months, parents (N = 126) completed online surveys (questions derived from CDC Infant Feeding Practices questionnaire, Short Form of the MOS Health survey, and Block Kids Food Frequency Questionnaire (Ages 2–7; Nutrition Quest) for diet MN21–24). Height and weight were collected at home visits. Child BMI-for age z-scores were based on WHO growth standards, and dietary patterns at MN24 were derived by principal component analysis (PCA). Mode of delivery (i.e., vaginal or caesarean), timing of introduction to solids, dietary patterns, child's BMI z-score and feeding methods (i.e., exclusive formula or breastfeeding, or both), and maternal weight were obtained. Multiple regression modelling determined the explanatory power of these factors on MN24 BMI. Results Modelling revealed a significant regression equation (P &lt; .001), with an R2 of .359. MN12 BMI-for-age z-score (MN12 BMI) (β = .555, P &lt; .001) explained 31.2% of the variance in MN24 BMI. Child feeding method at MN3 (β = –.218, P = .003) accounted for 4.7% of the variance in MN24 BMI. Conclusions Children with a greater MN12 BMI have a higher MN24 BMI, while those who undergo breastfeeding at MN3 have a lower MN24 BMI. Future studies will expand on these findings by examining if the predictive power of these early life factors on BMI persists in later life. Funding Sources Grants from the National Dairy Council to Sharon Donovan and Barbara H. Fiese (CoPI's), and the Gerber Foundation and NIH R01 DK107561 to Sharon Donovan.

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