scholarly journals Do childhood socioeconomic circumstances moderate the association between childhood cognitive ability and all-cause mortality across the life course? Prospective observational study of the 36-day sample of the Scottish Mental Survey 1947

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. e037847
Author(s):  
Matthew Henry Iveson ◽  
Drew Altschul ◽  
Ian Deary

BackgroundThere is growing evidence that higher childhood cognitive ability predicts lower all-cause mortality risk across the life course. Whereas this association does not appear to be mediated by childhood socioeconomic circumstances, it is unclear whether socioeconomic circumstances moderate this association.MethodsThe moderating role of childhood socioeconomic circumstances was assessed in 5318 members of the 36-day sample of the Scottish Mental Survey 1947. Univariate, sex-adjusted and age-adjusted, and mutually adjusted Cox models predicting all-cause mortality risk up to age 79 years were created using childhood IQ scores and childhood social class as predictors. Moderation was assessed by adding an interaction term between IQ scores and social class and comparing model fit.ResultsAn SD advantage in childhood IQ scores (HR=0.83, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.86, p<0.001) and a single-class advantage in childhood social class (HR=0.92, 95% CI 0.88 to 0.97, p<0.001) independently predicted lower mortality risk. Adding the IQ–social class interaction effect did not improve model fit (χ2Δ=1.36, p=0.24), and the interaction effect did not predict mortality risk (HR=1.03, 95% CI 0.98 to 1.07, p=0.25).ConclusionsThe present study demonstrated that the association between higher childhood cognitive ability and lower all-cause mortality risk is not conditional on childhood social class. Whereas other measures of socioeconomic circumstances may play a moderating role, these findings suggest that the benefits of higher childhood cognitive ability for longevity apply regardless of the material socioeconomic circumstances experienced in childhood.

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-180
Author(s):  
Matthew H. Iveson ◽  
Chris Dibben ◽  
Ian J. Deary

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.


Gerontology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Miles Welstead ◽  
Michelle Luciano ◽  
Tom C. Russ ◽  
Graciela Muniz-Terrera

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Recent research suggests that the experience of frailty progression may be heterogeneous, with latent subpopulations of older adults following distinct trajectories of frailty. We aimed to investigate this notion and determine whether certain factors are associated with the membership of these subpopulations. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Data from 5 data waves collected over 12 years in participants of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, aged 70 at baseline, were used to derive the frailty index (FI) (NW1 = 1,091, NW5 = 431). These were used in latent class mixed modelling to estimate subpopulations of frailty trajectories. <b><i>Results:</i></b> A quadratic latent class mixed model found 3 distinct groupings, which followed a low (61%, <i>n</i> = 632), medium (36%, <i>n</i> = 368), or high (3%, <i>n</i> = 28) FI trajectory. Each grouping had different intercepts and slopes, with the high grouping following the steepest trajectory indicating a rapid increase in frailty. Findings showed that in general, those in the low grouping were younger, had higher education, higher age 11 cognitive ability, and were from a higher social class than those in the medium and high groupings. <b><i>Discussion/Conclusion:</i></b> Our findings demonstrate heterogeneity in frailty trajectories over 12 years in individuals aged 70 years at baseline. Membership of higher frailty trajectory groupings was associated with lower social class, less education, and lower childhood cognitive ability, indicating the potential for future interventions to target individuals who are at the greatest risk of belonging to the high frailty trajectory. Future research is required to continue this line of inquiry by exploring other risk and protective factors, and importantly, to assess whether it is possible to realign an individual’s membership to a less detrimental grouping of frailty trajectory.


2020 ◽  
pp. jech-2020-214423
Author(s):  
Meg E Fluharty ◽  
Rebecca Hardy ◽  
George Ploubidis ◽  
Benedetta Pongiglione ◽  
David Bann

IntroductionDisadvantaged socioeconomic position (SEP) in early and adult life has been repeatedly associated with premature mortality. However, it is unclear whether these inequalities differ across time, nor if they are consistent across different SEP indicators.MethodsBritish birth cohorts born in 1946, 1958 and 1970 were used, and multiple SEP indicators in early and adult life were examined. Deaths were identified via national statistics or notifications. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate associations between ridit scored SEP indicators and all-cause mortality risk—from 26 to 43 years (n=40 784), 26 to 58 years (n=35 431) and 26 to 70 years (n=5353).ResultsMore disadvantaged SEP was associated with higher mortality risk—magnitudes of association were similar across cohort and each SEP indicator. For example, HRs (95% CI) from 26 to 43 years comparing lowest to highest paternal social class were 2.74 (1.02 to 7.32) in 1946c, 1.66 (1.03 to 2.69) in 1958c, and 1.94 (1.20 to 3.15) in 1970c. Paternal social class, adult social class and housing tenure were each independently associated with mortality risk.ConclusionsSocioeconomic circumstances in early and adult life show persisting associations with premature mortality from 1971 to 2016, reaffirming the need to address socioeconomic factors across life to reduce inequalities in survival to older age.


PLoS Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. e1003549
Author(s):  
Ayako Hiyoshi ◽  
Lisa Berg ◽  
Alessandra Grotta ◽  
Ylva Almquist ◽  
Mikael Rostila

Background Previous studies have shown that the experience of parental death during childhood is associated with increased mortality risk. However, few studies have examined potential pathways that may explain these findings. The aim of this study is to examine whether familial and behavioural factors during adolescence and socioeconomic disadvantages in early adulthood mediate the association between loss of a parent at age 0 to 12 and all-cause mortality by the age of 63. Methods and findings A cohort study was conducted using data from the Stockholm Birth Cohort Multigenerational Study for 12,615 children born in 1953, with information covering 1953 to 2016. Familial and behavioural factors at age 13 to 19 included psychiatric and alcohol problems in the surviving parent, receipt of social assistance, and delinquent behaviour in the offspring. Socioeconomic disadvantage in early adulthood included educational attainment, occupational social class, and income at age 27 to 37. We used Cox proportional hazard regression models, combined with a multimediator analysis, to separate direct and indirect effects of parental death on all-cause mortality. Among the 12,582 offspring in the study (men 51%; women 49%), about 3% experienced the death of a parent in childhood. During follow-up from the age of 38 to 63, there were 935 deaths among offspring. Parental death was associated with an elevated risk of mortality after adjusting for demographic and household socioeconomic characteristics at birth (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.52 [95% confidence interval: 1.10 to 2.08, p-value = 0.010]). Delinquent behaviour in adolescence and income during early adulthood were the most influential mediators, and the indirect associations through these variables were HR 1.03 (1.00 to 1.06, 0.029) and HR 1.04 (1.01 to 1.07, 0.029), respectively. After accounting for these indirect paths, the direct path was attenuated to HR 1.35 (0.98 to 1.85, 0.066). The limitations of the study include that the associations may be partly due to genetic, social, and behavioural residual confounding, that statistical power was low in some of the subgroup analyses, and that there might be other relevant paths that were not investigated in the present study. Conclusions Our findings from this cohort study suggest that childhood parental death is associated with increased mortality and that the association was mediated through a chain of disadvantages over the life course including delinquency in adolescence and lower income during early adulthood. Professionals working with bereaved children should take the higher mortality risk in bereaved offspring into account and consider its lifelong consequences. When planning and providing support to bereaved children, it may be particularly important to be aware of their increased susceptibility to delinquency and socioeconomic vulnerability that eventually lead to higher mortality.


2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-107
Author(s):  
J TEERLINK ◽  
L DELGADOHERRERA ◽  
R THAKKAR ◽  
B HUANG ◽  
R PADLEY

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 505-506
Author(s):  
Dominika Seblova ◽  
Kelly Peters ◽  
Susan Lapham ◽  
Laura Zahodne ◽  
Tara Gruenewald ◽  
...  

Abstract Having more years of education is independently associated with lower mortality, but it is unclear whether other attributes of schooling matter. We examined the association of high school quality and all-cause mortality across race/ethnicity. In 1960, about 5% of US high schools participated in Project Talent (PT), which collected information about students and their schools. Over 21,000 PT respondents were followed for mortality into their eighth decade of life using the National Death Index. A school quality factor, capturing term length, class size, and teacher qualifications, was used as the main predictor. First, we estimated overall and sex-stratified Cox proportional hazards models with standard errors clustered at the school level, adjusting for age, sex, composite measure of parental socioeconomic status, and 1960 cognitive ability. Second, we added an interaction between school quality and race/ethnicity. Among this diverse cohort (60% non-Hispanic Whites, 23% non-Hispanic Blacks, 7% Hispanics, 10% classified as another race/s) there were 3,476 deaths (16.5%). School quality was highest for Hispanic respondents and lowest for non-Hispanic Blacks. Non-Hispanic Blacks also had the highest mortality risk. In the whole sample, school quality was not associated with mortality risk. However, higher school quality was associated with lower mortality among those classified as another race/s (HR 0.75, 95% CI: 0.56-0.99). For non-Hispanic Blacks and Whites, the HR point estimates were unreliable, but suggest that higher school quality is associated with increased mortality. Future work will disentangle these differences in association of school quality across race/ethnicity and examine cause-specific mortality.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 198-199
Author(s):  
Charu Verma ◽  
Mengting Li ◽  
XinQi Dong

Abstract Most existing studies have examined the relationship between social support and health in cross-sectional data. However, the changing dynamics of social support over time and its relationship with all-cause mortality have not been well explored. Using data from the Pine Study (N = 3,157), this study examined whether social support was associated with time of death at an 8 years follow-up among older Chinese Americans. Social support from a spouse, family members and friend were collected at the baseline using an HRS social support scale. Perceived social support and time of death were ascertained from the baseline through wave 4. Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess associations of perceived support with the risk of all-cause mortality using time-varying covariate analyses. Covariates included age, sex, education, income, and medical comorbidities. All study participants were followed up for 8 years, during which 492 deaths occurred. In multivariable analyses, the results showed that positive family support [HR 0.91; 95% CI (0.86, 0.98)] and overall social support [HR 0.95; 95% CI (0.92,0.98)] were significantly associated with a lower risk of 8-year mortality. Results demonstrate robust association in which perceived positive family and overall social support over time had a protective effect on all-cause mortality risk in older Chinese Americans. Interventions could focus on older adults with low social support and protect their health and well-being. Future studies could further explore why social support from family is different from social support from other sources regarding mortality risk in older Chinese Americans.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Hongwei Wu ◽  
Qiang Li ◽  
Lijing Fan ◽  
Dewang Zeng ◽  
Xianggeng Chi ◽  
...  

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Previous studies have reported that serum magnesium (Mg) deficiency is involved in the development of heart failure, particularly in patients with end-stage kidney disease. The association between serum Mg levels and mortality risk in patients receiving hemodialysis is controversial. We aimed to estimate the prognostic value of serum Mg concentration on all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality in patients receiving hemodialysis. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We did a systematic literature search in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science to identify eligible studies that reported the prognostic value of serum Mg levels in mortality risk among patients on hemodialysis. We performed a meta-analysis by pooling and analyzing hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). <b><i>Results:</i></b> We identified 13 observational studies with an overall sample of 42,967 hemodialysis patients. Higher all-cause mortality (adjusted HR 1.58 [95% CI: 1.31–1.91]) and higher cardiovascular mortality (adjusted HR 3.08 [95% CI: 1.27–7.50]) were found in patients with lower serum Mg levels after multivariable adjustment. There was marked heterogeneity (<i>I</i><sup>2</sup> = 79.6%, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001) that was partly explained by differences in age stratification and study area. In addition, subgroup analysis showed that a serum Mg concentration of ≤1.1 mmol/L might be the vigilant cutoff value. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> A lower serum Mg level was associated with higher all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality in patients receiving hemodialysis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 282.2-282
Author(s):  
S. Ruiz-Simón ◽  
I. Calabuig ◽  
M. Gomez-Garberi ◽  
M. Andrés

Background:We have recently revealed by active screening that about a third of gout cases in the cardiovascular population is not registered in records [1], highlighting the value of field studies.Objectives:To assess whether gout screening in patients hospitalized for cardiovascular events may also help identify patients at higher risk of mortality after discharge.Methods:A retrospective cohort field study, carried out in 266 patients admitted for cardiovascular events in the Cardiology, Neurology and Vascular Surgery units of a tertiary centre in Spain. The presence of gout was established by records review and face-to-face interview, according to the 2015 ACR/EULAR criteria. The occurrence of mortality during follow-up and its causes were obtained from electronic medical records. The association between gout and subsequent mortality was tested using Cox regression models. Whether covariates affect the gout-associated mortality was also studied.Results:Of 266 patients recruited at baseline, 17 were excluded due to loss to follow-up (>6mo), leaving a final sample of 249 patients (93.6%). Thirty-six cases (14.5% of the sample) were classified as having gout: twenty-three (63.9%) had a previously registered diagnosis, while 13 (36.1%) had not and was established by the interview.After discharge, the mean follow-up was 19.9 months (SD ±8.6), with a mortality incidence of 21.6 deaths per 100 patient-years, 34.2% by cardiovascular causes.Gout significantly increased the risk of subsequent all-cause mortality, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.01 (95%CI 1.13 to 3.58). When the analysis was restricted to gout patients with registered diagnosis, the association remained significant (HR 2.89; 95%CI 1.54 to 5.41).The adjusted HR for all-cause mortality associated with gout was 1.86 (95% CI 1.01-3.40). Regarding the causes of death, both cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular were numerically increased.Secondary variables rising the mortality risk in those with gout were age (HR 1.07; 1.01 to 1.13) and coexistent renal disease (HR 4.70; 1.31 to 16.84), while gender, gout characteristics and traditional risk factors showed no impact.Conclusion:Gout was confirmed an independent predictor of subsequent all-cause mortality in patients admitted for cardiovascular events. Active screening for gout allowed identifying a larger population at high mortality risk, which may help tailor optimal management to minimize the cardiovascular impact.References:[1]Calabuig I, et al. Front Med (Lausanne). 2020 Sep 29;7:560.Disclosure of Interests:Silvia Ruiz-Simón: None declared, Irene Calabuig: None declared, Miguel Gomez-Garberi: None declared, Mariano Andrés Speakers bureau: Grunenthal, Menarini, Consultant of: Grunenthal, Grant/research support from: Grunenthal


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document