Grandparents' Education and Infant Health: Pathways Across Generations

McFarland, Michael J.; McLanahan, Sara; Goosby, Bridget J.; Reichman, Nancy E.

doi:10.1111/jomf.12383

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 52 publications

(87 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Somewhat relatedly, grandparental wealth is measured as the average of maternal and paternal grandparents' family wealth. The impact of grandparental wealth on child wellbeing may differ between paternal and maternal linkages [74]. Therefore, efforts should be devoted to exploring whether and how the protective role of wealth might vary between paternal and maternal grandparents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grandparents’ wealth and the body mass index trajectories of grandchildren

Huang

2020

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The aims of this study are to (i) examine associations between grandparents' wealth and grandchild's initial body mass index (BMI) in early childhood and its subsequent growth patterns, and to (ii) assess whether the associations are similar for white and black children. Methods Data are from the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and its supplemental studies of Child Development Supplement (CDS) and Transition to Adulthood (TA) (N = 2,128). Three-level growth curve models are used to analyze the association between exposure to grandparental wealth in early childhood and grandchildren's BMI growth trajectories, accounting for parental sociodemographic characteristics and maternal BMI levels. Results Children with less grandparental wealth in early childhood have higher initial BMI than children with more grandparental wealth. Further, increases in grandparental wealth in childhood are associated with a slower BMI growth rate. The wealth-body mass index associations are more evident among white children than black children. Conclusions The study reveals a multigenerational social gradient to body mass index. Elevating the wealth levels of the grandparent generation could potentially reduce their grandchildren's obesity risk. The protective role of grandparental wealth seems to be more evident among white families than black families.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grandparents’ wealth and the body mass index trajectories of grandchildren

Huang

2020

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Current data suggest that some of the intergenerational social influences on birth weight include education, geographical location, and other sociodemographic characteristics. For example, grandparents' educational attainment and residential environment have been associated with grandchildren's birthweight 213,214 . In the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, having a grandfather with less than a high school education was associated with a 93-gram reduction in birth weight and a 59% increase in odds of low birthweight 214 .…”

Section: Rationale For Epigenetic Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, grandparents' educational attainment and residential environment have been associated with grandchildren's birthweight 213,214 . In the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, having a grandfather with less than a high school education was associated with a 93-gram reduction in birth weight and a 59% increase in odds of low birthweight 214 . An examination of multiple social and biological factors within the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s study revealed that both distal and proximal grandparental and parental life-course biological and social factors predicted child size at birth.…”

Section: Rationale For Epigenetic Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the evidence for epigenetic regulation of environmental influences on child health across generations

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Environmental exposures, psychosocial stressors and nutrition are all potentially important influences that may impact health outcomes directly or via interactions with the genome or epigenome over generations. While there have been clear successes in large-scale human genetic studies in recent decades, there is still a substantial amount of missing heritability to be elucidated for complex childhood disorders. Mounting evidence, primarily in animals, suggests environmental exposures may generate or perpetuate altered health outcomes across one or more generations. One putative mechanism for these environmental health effects is via altered epigenetic regulation. This review highlights the current epidemiologic literature and supporting animal studies that describe intergenerational and transgenerational health effects of environmental exposures. Both maternal and paternal exposures and transmission patterns are considered, with attention paid to the attendant ethical, legal and social implications.

show abstract

“…One set of studies examine similarities between mothers' and daughters' birth weight outcomes, and the social processes—such as maternal income—mediating this association (Conley and Bennett 2000, Conley and Bennett 2001, Currie and Moretti 2003, Currie and Moretti 2007). Other studies identify risk factors and pathways of risk contributing to poor perinatal health that date back multiple generations, such as intergenerational transmissions of low maternal education (Kane 2015, McFarland, McLanahan et al In press). …”

Section: Social Relationships As a Key Preconception Social Conditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, understanding not only the mother's early life course experiences through a more comprehensive lens of place and social relationships, but also understanding the experiences of her parents, which may have critically shaped her early life experiences, could lend a more comprehensive understanding of the set of risk factors leading to poor perinatal health. As previously noted, prior studies have laid the groundwork for exploring these associations (Conley and Bennett 2000, Conley and Bennett 2001, Currie and Moretti 2003, Currie and Moretti 2007, Kane 2015, McFarland, McLanahan et al In press), but much more work is needed to parse out these socially and biologically complex pathways. Furthermore, such explorations could expand our understanding of infant health as a mechanism transmitting social, health, and economic, disadvantage from one generation to the next (Case, Lubotsky et al 2002, Case and Paxson 2006, Kane 2015, Kane 2016).…”

Section: Promising Directions For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theoretical Insights into Preconception Social Conditions and Perinatal Health: The Role of Place and Social Relationships

Kane

Margerison-Zilko

2017

Popul Res Policy Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recent efforts to explain the stark social and racial disparities in adverse birth outcomes that have persisted for decades in the U.S. have looked beyond prenatal factors, to explore preconception social conditions that may influence perinatal health via dysregulation of physiologic processes. The extant evidence supporting this link however remains limited, both due to a lack of data and theory. To address the latter, this manuscript generates a structured set of theoretical insights that further develop the link between two preconception social conditions — place and social relationships — and perinatal health. The insights propose the following. Place: necessarily encompasses all social contexts to which females are exposed from infancy through young adulthood; encompasses a variety of related exposures that, when possible, should be jointly considered; and may compound the effect of poverty—in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood—on perinatal health. Social relationships: span relationships from early life through adulthood, and extend to intergenerational associations; often involve (or induce) major changes in the lives of individuals and should be examined with an emphasis on the developmental stage in which the change occurred; and necessarily encompass a lack of social integration, or, social isolation. We also identify potential biological and social-structural mechanisms linking these preconception social conditions to perinatal health, and conclude by identifying promising directions for future research.

show abstract

Grandparents' Education and Infant Health: Pathways Across Generations

Cited by 6 publications

References 52 publications

Grandparents’ wealth and the body mass index trajectories of grandchildren

Grandparents’ wealth and the body mass index trajectories of grandchildren

Exploring the evidence for epigenetic regulation of environmental influences on child health across generations

Theoretical Insights into Preconception Social Conditions and Perinatal Health: The Role of Place and Social Relationships

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About