Early Poverty and Children’s General Health at 8 Years of Age in the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study

Abstract

There are growing concerns about the effects of poverty on children's health, but few studies have examined how the long-term experience of poverty affects the general health of children. We sought to investigate the relationship between children's poverty experience from birth to school age and their general health status. Data from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study (TBCS), a nationally representative sample of 17,853 children born in 2005 were used. Mother-rated health of children at age 8 was assessed. We used logistic regression to examine how the duration and timing of child poverty are related to children's general health, controlling for child and maternal characteristics. Of the 17,853 cohort members, 23.6% experienced early poverty (persistent, 5.9%; occasional, 17.7%) before age 5, and 11.4% experienced concurrent poverty at the age of 8. Children born into poverty and remaining poor were more likely to have poor health than those who were never poor. Early poverty (persistent poverty: odds ratio (OR) = 1.50; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.27-1.78; occasional poverty: OR = 1.25; 95% CI 1.12-1.39) was more detrimental to children's general health than concurrent poverty (OR = 1.23; 95% CI 1.09-1.40). A long-lasting gradient effect of early poverty on the general health of children was detected, suggesting an urgent need to prevent children from growing up in persistent poverty.

Mediating effects of early health on the relationship between early poverty and long-term health outcomes of children: a birth cohort study

“…5 6 Empirical studies have demonstrated that poor children have a higher risk of experiencing adverse health outcomes and death than their less impoverished peers. [7][8][9][10][11] Health conditions during the crucial early childhood period shape lifelong health. 12 Since the Barker hypothesis was first introduced in the 1990s, the long-term effects of early developmental experiences on health and disease risk into adulthood have been recognised and investigated.…”