Health inequality among Chinese older adults: The role of childhood circumstances

Yan, Binjian; Chen, Xi; Gill, Thomas M

doi:10.1016/j.jeoa.2020.100237

Cited by 19 publications

(25 citation statements)

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“…Theories and previous studies suggest that a particular domain of childhood circumstances can lead to differences in physical, mental, and cognitive health in adulthood ( 9 , 14 , 41 , 46 ). Therefore, the first step of our study focused on whether childhood circumstances are associated with health in middle and later life.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Childhood health and nutrition were measured with two variables: (i) self-reported health status before age 15 (categorized as poor, fair, or good); and (ii) ever experienced hunger from birth to age 5 ( 15 , 41 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Parental genetics were measured with four variables: (i) parents' longevity (for parents who have passed away, measured as their age at death, and for parents who are alive, measured as their current age); and (ii) whether the respondents' parents are still living (indicators of mother or father still living) ( 13 , 41 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effects of Childhood Circumstances on Health in Middle and Later Life: Evidence From China

Tao

Shao

2021

Front. Public Health

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Background: This study examined the relationship between childhood circumstances and health in middle and later life. We quantified how childhood circumstances contribute to health in later life, both directly and indirectly, through their effects on potential mediators.Methods: This study used three waves of data from the national longitudinal survey of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). The final model in this study included 7,476 eligible respondents aged 45 years and above. We constructed a simple health status measure based on the first principal component of CHARLS survey responses with 25 health-related information. It is a multi-dimensional measurement that comprehensively reflects the individual's healthy aging. We formulated childhood circumstances factors into five domains: childhood health and nutrition, childhood socioeconomic status, access to health care, parental genetics, and adverse childhood experiences. Ordered logit regression was conducted to analyze the relationship between health in middle and later life and childhood circumstances, with other explanatory variables controlled.Results: Controlling for educational attainment, personal income, and health status in the last wave, adults who experience good childhood health (poor as the base, coefficient 0.448, p < 0.01), and better family financial status (worse as the base, coefficient 0.173, p < 0.01) have significantly better health during their middle and later life, in comparison, being inconvenient to visit a doctor (coefficient −0.178, p < 0.01), and having two or three adverse childhood experiences (0 as the base, coefficient −0.148, p < 0.01) are significantly associated with poorer health. Childhood circumstances appear to act both through a lasting effect of initial health and financial status in childhood and through their impact on achievements in adulthood.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that investments in health during childhood not only contribute to health in later life but also dynamically improve an individual's educational attainment and personal income, as well as other life prospects. All these returns may extend far beyond childhood and continue throughout the lifespan.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effects of Childhood Circumstances on Health in Middle and Later Life: Evidence From China

Tao

Shao

2021

Front. Public Health

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“…The present paper shows that older people from two different countries, and particularly Brazilians, often rated their own health as “very good” or “good.” There are important differences between Brazil and Portugal, both in the prevalence of positive perceptions of one's own health and in its impact on mental and physical health. Results from comparisons between countries suggest a need for investing in improving one's health throughout life, because childhood living conditions can be considered distal determinants of independent performance of activities of daily living and of reduced burden of chronic diseases among older adults ( 111 , 112 ). Personality, expressed through the trait neuroticism, deserves special attention.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Associated With Positive Self-Rated Health: Comparing Older Adults in Brazil and in Portugal

Cachioni

Cipolli

Borim

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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Introduction: Self-rated health is a multidimensional health indicator and a predictor of adverse events in old age. Answers to this assessment are influenced by social, cultural and personality factors.Aim: Exploring common and distinctive characteristics of Brazilian and Portuguese older adults aged 70 and over regarding positive self-rated health according to sociodemographic variables, to functional capacity, to independent performance of basic activities of daily living and to neuroticism, as well as analyzing associations between positive self-rated health and these variables.Methods: The present paper is a comparative and cross-sectional study based on secondary data contained in the databases of the FIBRA (Frailty in Brazilian Older Adults) follow-up study, with 418 Brazilian older adults, and of the DIA (From Disability to Activity: The Challenge of Aging) study, with 380 Portuguese older adults. Both samples had higher percentages of women: 68.4% for Portugal and 69.9% for Brazil. The Brazilian sample had a higher average age (80.31 ± 4.67) than the Portuguese sample (76.80 ± 5.28).Results: The Portuguese older adults had better overall cognition scores, higher handgrip strength and higher neuroticism values than the Brazilian older adults. In the simple and multiple logistic regression analyses, it was found that among Brazilian older adults, subjects with higher scores in the MMSE (OR 1.16; 95% CI 1.08–1.24), regardless of ADL performance (OR 2.13; 95% CI 1.31–3.47) and with scores 24–29 (OR 1.92; 95% CI 1.07–3.43) or 11–23 (OR 2.09; 95% CI 1.15–3.79) in neuroticism were more likely to assess their health as very good/good. On the other hand, the Portuguese older adults with intermediate 24–9 (OR 2.38; 95% CI 1.31–4.33) or low 11–23 (OR 5.31; 95% CI 2.69–10.45) scores in neuroticism were more likely to evaluate their health as very good/good.Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study and on the existing literature, it may be said that it is possible for people to age while keeping a positive perception of their own health, even in advanced old age; comparisons between the above-mentioned countries, however, point to the need for investments in healthcare systems so that older adults may enjoy greater physical independence and improved mental health.

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“…Higher smoking intensity was also associated with higher risks of Alzheimer’s disease ( Tyas et al, 2003 ). Other risk factors, such as regional and rural/urban status at birth ( Yan et al, 2020 ), exposure to famine ( Sun et al, 2018 ), low educational attainment and poor neighborhood quality ( Li et al, 2020 ) and migration ( Xu et al, 2017 ), also increase the risk of worse health in later life in China.…”

Section: Understanding Healthy Aging From a Life Course Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Health and Social Challenges for Aging and Long-Term Care in China

Yang

Tan

et al. 2020

Res Aging

Self Cite

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The second King’s College London Symposium on Ageing and Long-term Care in China was convened from 4 to 5th July 2019 at King’s College London in London. The aim of the Symposium was to have a better understanding of health and social challenges for aging and long-term care in China. This symposium draws research insights from a wide range of disciplines, including economics, public policy, demography, gerontology, public health and sociology. A total of 20 participants from eight countries, seek to identify the key issues and research priorities in the area of aging and long-term care in China. The results published here are a synthesis of the top four research areas that represent the perspectives from some of the leading researchers in the field.

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Health inequality among Chinese older adults: The role of childhood circumstances

Cited by 19 publications

References 56 publications

The Effects of Childhood Circumstances on Health in Middle and Later Life: Evidence From China

The Effects of Childhood Circumstances on Health in Middle and Later Life: Evidence From China

Factors Associated With Positive Self-Rated Health: Comparing Older Adults in Brazil and in Portugal

Understanding Health and Social Challenges for Aging and Long-Term Care in China

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