Educational attainment and the clustering of health-related behavior among U.S. young adults

Skalamera, Julie; Hummer, Robert A.

doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.12.011

Cited by 74 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 36 publications

(42 reference statements)

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“…According to LMR p -values and relative changes in log-likelihood, BIC, and ABIC values, a three-cluster model was the most adequate fit of the data for both women and men, which is consistent with previous research on gender-specific health behavior clustering in the Add Health sample (Skalamera and Hummer 2016). Table 2 provides the fit statistics used to make this determination.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 87%

Gender and Health Behavior Clustering among U.S. Young Adults

Olson

Hummer

Harris

2017

Biodemography and Social Biology

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U.S. trends in population health suggest alarming disparities among young adults who are less healthy across most measureable domains than their counterparts in other high-income countries; these international comparisons are particularly troubling for women. To deepen our understanding of gender disparities in health and underlying behavioral contributions, we document gender-specific clusters of health behavior among U.S. young adults using nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. We find high levels of poor health behavior, but especially among men; 40 percent of men clustered into a group characterized by unhealthy behavior (e.g., poor diet, no exercise, substance use), compared to only 22 percent of women. Additionally, women tend to age out of unhealthy behaviors in young adulthood more than men. Further, we uncover gender differences in the extent to which sociodemographic position and adolescent contexts inform health behavior clustering. For example, college education was more protective for men, whereas marital status was equally protective across gender. Parental drinking mattered for health behavior clustering among men, whereas peer drinking mattered for clustering among women. We discuss these results in the context of declining female advantage in U.S. health and changing young adult social and health contexts.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 87%

Gender and Health Behavior Clustering among U.S. Young Adults

Olson

Hummer

Harris

2017

Biodemography and Social Biology

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“…This is in contrast to the self-reports (Zajacova, Rogers & Johnson-Lawrence, 2012) and suggests that some of the sub-BA health penalty stemmed from differential reporting of health conditions by HS graduates versus those who attended college. However, our findings corroborate other studies where health returns to sub-baccalaureate education were modest or not significant (Skalamera & Hummer, 2016). …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…A recent study, however, found an intriguing anomaly: subbaccalaureate adults – who attended college but did not earn a bachelor's degree – reported more physical health problems and diagnoses than high school (HS) graduates who never attended college (Zajacova, Rogers, & Johnson-Lawrence, 2012). Several other studies also suggested that adults with “some college” did not always compare positively to HS graduates, for instance with respect to health behaviors (Rosenbaum, 2012; Skalamera & Hummer, 2016). This pattern is important because it contradicts the expectation that the college education beyond HS would yield health payoffs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Anomaly in the education–health gradient: Biomarker profiles among adults with subbaccalaureate attainment levels

Zajacova

Johnson-Lawrence

2016

SSM - Population Health

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This Short Communication builds on recent findings that documented an anomaly in the education-health gradient: adults who attended college but did not earn a BA (the subbaccalaureate group) reported an equal or higher level of health problems than adults with high school (HS) diploma. Our aim is to test whether this anomaly holds when we eliminate potential reporting differences, by examining biomarker levels in the subbaccalaureate vs HS groups.Using the restricted 1999–2012 NHANES, we estimate models of biomarkers for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases as a function of educational attainment, including three subbaccalaureate levels: “some college”, vocational associate degree (AA), and academic AA.The data show that adults with “some college” or vocational AA have no systematic advantage over HS graduates in most biomarker indices while academic AA is associated with a significantly better risk profile compared to HS. The findings indicate that the adults with some college and vocational AA degrees do not benefit from their college experience in terms of improved physiological risk profile.This pattern underscores the need to understand and explain the anomalous health pattern that concerns 28% of American adults in the subbaccalaureate group among whom many reap little health payoffs to postsecondary schooling.

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“…The higher risk for an alcoholexposed pregnancy among smokers might be associated, in part, with smokers being more likely to drink alcohol. Health risk behaviors including excessive alcohol use and cigarette smoking can co-occur (17). Incomplete data for analysis variables n = 132…”

Section: Conclusion and Commentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vital Signs: Alcohol-Exposed Pregnancies — United States, 2011–2013

Green

McKnight-Eily

Tan

et al. 2016

MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep.

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Background: Alcohol is a teratogen.* Prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with a range of adverse reproductive outcomes and can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) characterized by lifelong physical, behavioral, and intellectual disabilities. FASDs are completely preventable if a woman does not drink alcohol while pregnant.Methods: CDC analyzed data from the 2011-2013 National Survey of Family Growth to generate U.S. prevalence estimates of risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy for 4,303 nonpregnant, nonsterile women aged 15-44 years, by selected demographic and behavioral factors. A woman was considered at risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy during the past month if she had sex with a male, drank any alcohol, and did not (and her partner did not with her) use contraception in the past month; was not sterile; and had a partner (or partners) not known to be sterile. Results:The weighted prevalence of alcohol-exposed pregnancy risk among U.S. women aged 15-44 years was 7.3%. During a 1-month period, approximately 3.3 million women in the United States were at risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy. Conclusions and Implications for Public Health Practice:Alcohol use in pregnancy is associated with low birthweight, preterm birth, birth defects, and developmental disabilities. Women of reproductive age should be informed of the risks of alcohol use during pregnancy, and contraception should be recommended, as appropriate, for women who do not want to become pregnant. Women wanting a pregnancy should be advised to stop drinking at the same time contraception is discontinued. Health care providers should advise women not to drink at all if they are pregnant or there is any chance they might be pregnant. Alcohol misuse screening and behavioral counseling (also known as alcohol screening and brief intervention) is recommended for all adults in primary care, including reproductive-aged and pregnant women, as an evidenced-based approach to reducing alcohol consumption among persons who consume alcohol in excess of the recommended guidelines.

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Educational attainment and the clustering of health-related behavior among U.S. young adults

Cited by 74 publications

References 36 publications

Gender and Health Behavior Clustering among U.S. Young Adults

Gender and Health Behavior Clustering among U.S. Young Adults

Anomaly in the education–health gradient: Biomarker profiles among adults with subbaccalaureate attainment levels

Vital Signs: Alcohol-Exposed Pregnancies — United States, 2011–2013

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