scholarly journals Early Social Origins of Biological Risks for Men and Women in Later Life

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 503-522
Author(s):  
Patricia M. Morton ◽  
Kenneth F. Ferraro
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Inflammation ◽  
Mortality Risk ◽  
Later Life ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Parental Behaviors ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Multiple Points ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Childhood Disadvantage

We investigate whether childhood exposures influence adult chronic inflammation and mortality risk via adult health characteristics and socioeconomic status (SES) and whether gender moderates these relationships. Analyzing a longitudinal national sample of 9,310 men and women over age 50, we found that childhood SES, parental behaviors, and adolescent behaviors were associated with adult chronic inflammation via health characteristics and SES in adulthood. The process of disadvantage initiated by low childhood SES (i.e., adult health risk factors, socioeconomic disadvantage, and chronic inflammation) subsequently raised mortality risk. In addition, gender moderated the mediating influence of childhood SES via unhealthy behaviors and parental behaviors via adult SES. Demonstrating how social forces shape biological health through multiple mechanisms informs health policies by identifying multiple points of intervention in an effort to reduce the lasting consequences of childhood disadvantage.

Childhood Disadvantage and Adult Functional Status: Do Early-Life Exposures Jeopardize Healthy Aging?

2022 ◽  
pp. 089826432110647
Author(s):  
Patricia M. Morton
Keyword(s):  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Functional Status ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Functional Disability ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Additive Effects ◽  
Childhood Disadvantage ◽  
Early Life Exposures ◽  
Over Time

Objectives To examine whether childhood disadvantage is associated with later-life functional status and identify mediating factors. Methods Unique and additive effects of five childhood domains on functional status were assessed at baseline (2006) and over time (2006–2016) in a sample of 13,894 adults from the Health and Retirement Study (>50 years). Adult health behaviors and socioeconomic status (SES) were tested as mediators. Results Respondents exposed to multiple childhood disadvantages (OR = .694) as well as low childhood SES (OR = .615), chronic diseases (OR = .694), impairments (OR = .599), and risky adolescent behaviors (OR = .608) were less likely to be free of functional disability by baseline. Over time, these unique and additive effects of childhood disadvantage increased the hazard odds of eventually developing functional disability (e.g., additive effect: hOR = 1.261). Adult health behaviors and SES mediated some of these effects. Discussion Given the enduring effects of childhood disadvantage, policies to promote healthy aging should reduce exposure to childhood disadvantage.

scholarly journals Changes in waist circumference and risk of all-cause and CVD mortality: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer in Norfolk (EPIC-Norfolk) cohort study

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela A. Mulligan ◽  
Marleen A. H. Lentjes ◽  
Robert N. Luben ◽  
Nicholas J. Wareham ◽  
Kay-Tee Khaw
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Waist Circumference ◽  
Mortality Risk ◽  
Total Mortality ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Central Adiposity ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
All Cause Mortality ◽  
Cvd Mortality ◽  
Prospective Investigation

Abstract Background Measures of abdominal adiposity are strongly associated with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, data are limited and conflicting regarding the consequences of changes in body fat distribution. The main aims of this paper are to investigate the association between changes in waist circumference (WC) and all-cause and CVD mortality and to examine these changes in relation to concurrent changes in weight. Methods The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Norfolk) study recruited 25,639 participants between 1993 and 1997, aged 39–79, a number of whom also attended a second examination (1998–2000), and were followed up to 2016 for mortality. Participants were eligible for inclusion if they had WC, weight and height measurements at both time-points; those with a self-reported history of CVD or cancer, body mass index < 18.5 kg/m2 or missing data on covariates were excluded, leaving 12,337 participants for analyses. The median (IQR) follow-up time was 16.4 (15.7, 17.2) years. Hazard Ratios (HRs) for all-cause (2866 deaths) and CVD mortality (822 deaths), by categories of WC change, were determined using Cox proportional hazards analyses. Results After multivariable adjustment, the HRs (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality for men and women with a WC gain (WCG) >  5 cm were 1.51 (1.29–1.75) and 1.25 (1.06–1.46) respectively. For CVD mortality in men and women with a WCG >  5 cm, the HRs were 1.84 (1.39–2.43) and 1.15 (0.85–1.55) respectively. In analyses of concurrent changes in WC and weight, the greatest risk (HRs) (95% CIs) in men occurred with weight loss and WCG: 1.80 (1.13–2.86) for all-cause and 2.22 (1.03–4.82) for CVD mortality. In women, the greatest risk for both all-cause (HR 1.50 (1.16–1.95)) and CVD mortality (HR 1.81 (1.15–2.85)) was observed in those with weight loss and maintenance of WC (WCM). Conclusions Objectively measured WCG > 5 cm, was associated with subsequent higher total mortality risk and higher CVD mortality risk in men. Interventions focusing on preventing increase in central adiposity rather than lowering weight per se in later life may potentially have greater health benefits.

The effect of various intensities of physical activity and chronic inflammation in men and women by diabetes status in a national sample

2012 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. e6-e8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marquis Hawkins ◽  
L. Maria Belalcazar ◽  
Kavitha Bhat Schelbert ◽  
Caroline Richardson ◽  
Christie M. Ballantyne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Chronic Inflammation ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Diabetes Status

scholarly journals Volunteering and Chronic Inflammation in Later Life: Is Sustained Volunteering Beneficial for Health?

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 695-695
Author(s):  
Mallory Bell ◽  
Madison Sauerteig ◽  
Kenneth Ferraro
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Chronic Inflammation ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
C Reactive Protein ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
Informal Volunteering ◽  
Retirement Study ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Although research on the health benefits of volunteering has proliferated in recent decades, most studies have focused on whether or not a person volunteers or the monthly frequency of volunteering. This study examines whether sustained volunteering has health benefits above and beyond occasional or short-lived volunteering. To investigate the salubrious effects of volunteering, the present study considers sustained volunteering engagement in terms of both formal and informal volunteering. Using four waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study, we assess the influence of sustained volunteering on chronic inflammation, measured by C-reactive protein (CRP). Results reveal that sustained engagement in formal and informal volunteering is related to lower CRP concentration, but this association is partly mediated by adult health and socioeconomic factors. Although sustained volunteering is associated with lower levels of chronic inflammation, older adults who maintain their volunteering over time are a select category of adults, characterized by higher education and wealth and better health.

scholarly journals Gender Differences in Avoiding Later-Life Disability: A Life Course Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 203-203
Author(s):  
Patricia Morton
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Socioeconomic Disadvantage ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
World Health ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Childhood Conditions

Abstract Identifying the early origins of adult health has underscored how experiences in the earliest stages of life can have lasting consequences. Whereas most research on the early origins of adult health has linked childhood conditions to worse health in adulthood, this study considered whether childhood conditions are associated with healthy aging. Guided by the World Health Organization’s emphasis on functional ability as a core component of healthy aging, the present study investigated the association between childhood social conditions and avoiding later-life limitations in basic and instrumental activities of daily living, referred to as disability-free status. This study also tested potential health-related and socioeconomic mediators and examined whether these life course antecedents of healthy aging vary by gender. Analyzing a sample of 9,376 adults over age 50 from the Health and Retirement Study over 10 years (2006-2016) revealed that childhood socioeconomic disadvantage reduced the odds of avoiding disability over time. For women, adult health lifestyles mediated this relationship whereas adult socioeconomic status (SES) mediated this relationship for men. Conditional indirect effects indicated that the mediational effects of body mass and education differed between men and women (i.e., moderated mediation). The direct effects of childhood and adult SES also varied by gender. These results demonstrate that the life course antecedents, especially SES, of healthy aging are distinct for men and women. Interventions should prioritize reducing early-life exposure to socioeconomic disadvantage, especially for women. Given the gendered differences in the mediating effects, midlife interventions can be tailored for men and women.

scholarly journals The Role of Occupation in Explaining Cognitive Functioning in Later Life: Education and Occupational Complexity in a U.S. National Sample of Black and White Men and Women

2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (7) ◽  
pp. 1189-1199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaori Fujishiro ◽  
Leslie A MacDonald ◽  
Michael Crowe ◽  
Leslie A McClure ◽  
Virginia J Howard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
White Men ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Mediation Effect ◽  
Or Education ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Occupational Complexity

Abstract Objective Positive associations between education and late-life cognition have been widely reported. This study examines whether occupational complexity mediates the relationship between education and late-life cognition, and whether the magnitude of mediation differs by race, gender, or education level. Methods Data were from a population-based cohort of non-Hispanic Blacks and Whites aged ≥45 years (n = 7,357). Education was categorized as less than high school, high school, some college, and college or higher. Using linear regression, we estimated the direct effect of each successive increase in education on cognitive functioning and indirect effects via substantive complexity of work. Results Occupational complexity significantly mediated 11%–22% of the cognitive gain associated with higher levels of education. The pattern of mediation varied between White men and all other race–gender groups: among White men, the higher the education, the greater the mediation effect by occupational complexity. Among Black men and women of both races, the higher the education, the smaller the mediation effect. Discussion Higher levels of education may provide opportunity for intellectually engaging environments throughout adulthood in the form of complex work, which may protect late-life cognition. However, this protective effect of occupational complexity may not occur equally across race–gender subgroups.

scholarly journals Long-Term Effects of Abuse in Later Life Perpetrated by Family Members

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 444-445
Author(s):  
Naomi Meinertz ◽  
Pi-Ju Liu ◽  
Ron Acierno
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Family Member ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Long Term Impact

Abstract Abuse in later life could potentially lead to lower levels of social support, especially when perpetrated by family members who are charged with protecting the older adult in their care. Using both waves of the National Elder Mistreatment longitudinal data (wave one collected in 2008 and wave two in 2015; N=774), long-term effects of abuse (i.e., physical, emotional, sexual, and financial) on levels of social support, physical health, and clinical depressive symptoms for respondents at or above the age of 60 years were analyzed. A multivariate analysis of variance showed that respondents abused at wave one (n=261) by a family member (B=-0.55, p≤0.001), a spouse or ex-partner (B=-0.349, p=0.02), or a non-relative or stranger (B=-0.301, p=0.026) had lower levels of social support eight years later at wave two. Those abused by a family member at wave one also experienced higher levels of depressive symptoms at wave two (B=-0.187, p=0.01). Perpetrator type did not predict general health at wave two. These results emphasize the long-term impact of abuse on the lives of older adults and highlight the importance trusted relationships, such as with family members, have on older adult health and wellbeing.

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