The dynamics of social inequalities in cognitive-related competencies along the early life course – A comparative study

2018 ◽  
Vol 88 ◽  
pp. 73-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Dämmrich ◽  
Moris Triventi
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Social Inequalities

scholarly journals Socioeconomic background and gene-environment interplay in social stratification across the early life course

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jani Erola ◽  
Hannu Lehti ◽  
Tina Baier ◽  
Aleksi Karhula
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Genetic Effects ◽  
Socioeconomic Background ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
Children's Education ◽  
Gene Environment ◽  
Children’S Education ◽  
The Impact

To what extent are genetic effects on children’s education, occupational standing, and income shaped by their parents’ socioeconomic characteristics? Does the impact vary over their children’s early life course, and are there differences across the social strata? We studied these research questions with Finnish register-based data on 6,542 pairs of twins born from 1975 to 1986. We applied the classical twin design to estimate the relative importance of genes. As outcomes, we compared education, occupation, and income in early adulthood. We found that shared environment influences were negligible in all cases. Notably, the proportion of genetic effects explained by parental characteristics mattered most for education and for occupation only because they were associated with their children’s education—but not for income. We did not find any variation across their early life course; however, we found that genetic influences were stronger among the advantaged families for income and education. Thus, gene-environment interactions (GxE) operate differently for different status-related characteristics. For the unique environment, the pattern was consistent across outcomes as the effect was greater among the advantaged families. Stratification scholars should therefore emphasize the importance of the unique environment as one of the drivers of the intergenerational transmission of social inequalities.

scholarly journals Early‐life course factors and oral health among young Norwegian adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62
Author(s):  
Anne Nordrehaug Åstrøm ◽  
Otto Robert Frans Smith ◽  
Gerhard Sulo
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Early Life

scholarly journals Body size throughout the life-course and incident benign prostatic hyperplasia-related outcomes and nocturia

BMC Urology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saira Khan ◽  
K. Y. Wolin ◽  
R. Pakpahan ◽  
R. L. Grubb ◽  
G. A. Colditz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Prostate Volume ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
Prostatic Hyperplasia ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract Background Existing evidence suggests that there is an association between body size and prevalent Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)-related outcomes and nocturia. However, there is limited evidence on the association between body size throughout the life-course and incident BPH-related outcomes. Methods Our study population consisted of men without histories of prostate cancer, BPH-related outcomes, or nocturia in the intervention arm of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO) (n = 4710). Associations for body size in early- (age 20), mid- (age 50) and late-life (age ≥ 55, mean age 60.7 years) and weight change with incident BPH-related outcomes (including self-reported nocturia and physician diagnosis of BPH, digital rectal examination-estimated prostate volume ≥ 30 cc, and prostate-specific antigen [PSA] concentration > 1.4 ng/mL) were examined using Poisson regression with robust variance estimation. Results Men who were obese in late-life were 25% more likely to report nocturia (Relative Risk (RR): 1.25, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.11–1.40; p-trendfor continuous BMI < 0.0001) and men who were either overweight or obese in late-life were more likely to report a prostate volume ≥ 30 cc (RRoverweight: 1.13, 95% CI 1.07–1.21; RRobese: 1.10, 95% CI 1.02–1.19; p-trendfor continuous BMI = 0.017) as compared to normal weight men. Obesity at ages 20 and 50 was similarly associated with both nocturia and prostate volume ≥ 30 cc. Considering trajectories of body size, men who were normal weight at age 20 and became overweight or obese by later-life had increased risks of nocturia (RRnormal to overweight: 1.09, 95% CI 0.98–1.22; RRnormal to obese: 1.28, 95% CI 1.10–1.47) and a prostate volume ≥ 30 cc (RRnormal to overweight: 1.12, 95% CI 1.05–1.20). Too few men were obese early in life to examine the independent effect of early-life body size. Later-life body size modified the association between physical activity and nocturia. Conclusions We found that later-life body size, independent of early-life body size, was associated with adverse BPH outcomes, suggesting that interventions to reduce body size even late in life can potentially reduce the burden of BPH-related outcomes and nocturia.

The pace of “the good life”: Connecting past, present, and future in the context of a housing affordability crisis

2021 ◽  
pp. 0961463X2098781
Author(s):  
Petr Kubala ◽  
Tomáš Hoření Samec
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Good Life ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Housing Affordability ◽  
General Question ◽  
The Good Life ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Ideal Types ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
The Ideal

This article focuses on the topic of the young adult’s cleft habitus influenced by a housing affordability crisis in the Czech Republic and examines how this situation affects the young adult’s relation to the imagination of a temporally structured life course and synchronization of life spheres (housing, family, and work). This article is based on qualitative in-depth interviews conducted in the four cities most affected by the house and rent price increase. The general question addresses if and how social inequalities, sharpened by the current housing affordability crisis, affect the process of narrative life course coherence creation (the connection of past, present, and future) in relation to an orientation toward a vision of “the good life.” We furthermore complement the already existing ideal types of the young adult’s relation toward time— confident continuity and cautious contingency—with two other two types— cautious continuity and total contingency—defined on the basis of our data. We argue that the ability of young adults to envision a coherent future is related to the feeling of secured housing and that the idea of the good life is depicted to a large extent through the ideal of homeownership, although the precarity of the housing market makes homeownership harder to reach for those from unprivileged backgrounds.

scholarly journals Exploring the impact of early life factors on inequalities in risk of overweight in UK children: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 101 (8) ◽  
pp. 724-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Massion ◽  
Sophie Wickham ◽  
Anna Pearce ◽  
Ben Barr ◽  
Catherine Law ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Childhood Overweight ◽  
Smoking During Pregnancy ◽  
The Social ◽  
Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy ◽  
Early Life Factors ◽  
Uk Millennium Cohort Study ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Academic Qualifications

BackgroundOverweight and obesity in childhood are socially patterned, with higher prevalence in more disadvantaged populations, but it is unclear to what extent early life factors attenuate the social inequalities found in childhood overweight/obesity.MethodsWe estimated relative risks (RRs) for being overweight (combining with obesity) at age 11 in 11 764 children from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) according to socio-economic circumstances (SEC). Early life risk factors were explored to assess if they attenuated associations between SECs and overweight.Results28.84% of children were overweight at 11 years. Children of mothers with no academic qualifications were more likely to be overweight (RR 1.72, 95% CI 1.48 to 2.01) compared to children of mothers with degrees and higher degrees. Controlling for prenatal, perinatal, and early life characteristics (particularly maternal pre-pregnancy overweight and maternal smoking during pregnancy) reduced the RR for overweight to 1.44, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.69 in the group with the lowest academic qualifications compared to the highest.ConclusionsWe observed a clear social gradient in overweight 11-year-old children using a representative UK sample. Moreover, we identified specific early life risk factors, including maternal smoking during pregnancy and maternal pre-pregnancy overweight, that partially account for the social inequalities found in childhood overweight. Policies to support mothers to maintain a healthy weight, breastfeed and abstain from smoking during pregnancy are important to improve maternal and child health outcomes, and our study provides some evidence that they may also help to address the continuing rise in inequalities in childhood overweight.

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