Mortality and Cause of Death Among Youths Previously Incarcerated in the Juvenile Legal System

Ruch, Donna; Steelesmith, Danielle L.; Brock, Guy; Boch, Samantha; Quinn, Camille R.; Bridge, Jeffrey A.; Campo, John V.; Fontanella, Cynthia A.

doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.40352

Cited by 12 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…However, it is important to note that studies in the literature show connections between accelerated pace of biological aging, risk factors, and disease outcomes in African American research participants (e.g., [ 51 ]). Second, the rate of death among LCP offenders in our sample was relatively low, whereas American studies report elevated rates of early death for LCP offenders [ 48 , 63 ]. Thus, death rates may somewhat differ according to availability of free universal healthcare and degree of firearms control.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Life-Course Persistent Antisocial Behavior and Accelerated Biological Aging in a Longitudinal Birth Cohort

Langevin

Caspi

Barnes

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Prior research shows that individuals who have exhibited antisocial behavior are in poorer health than their same-aged peers. A major driver of poor health is aging itself, yet research has not investigated relationships between offending trajectories and biological aging. We tested the hypothesis that individuals following a life-course persistent (LCP) antisocial trajectory show accelerated aging in midlife. Trajectories of antisocial behavior from age 7 to 26 years were studied in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a population-representative birth cohort (N = 1037). Signs of aging were assessed at age 45 years using previously validated measures including biomarkers, clinical tests, and self-reports. First, we tested whether the association between antisocial behavior trajectories and midlife signs of faster aging represented a decline from initial childhood health. We then tested whether decline was attributable to tobacco smoking, antipsychotic medication use, debilitating illnesses in adulthood, adverse exposures in childhood (maltreatment, socioeconomic disadvantage) and adulthood (incarceration), and to childhood self-control difficulties. Study members with a history of antisocial behavior had a significantly faster pace of biological aging by midlife, and this was most evident among individuals following the LCP trajectory (β, 0.22, 95%CI, 0.14, 0.28, p ≤ 0.001). This amounted to 4.3 extra years of biological aging between ages 25–45 years for Study members following the LCP trajectory compared to low-antisocial trajectory individuals. LCP offenders also experienced more midlife difficulties with hearing (β, −0.14, 95%CI, −0.21, −0.08, p ≤ 0.001), balance (β, −0.13, 95%CI, −0.18, −0.06, p ≤ 0.001), gait speed (β, −0.18, 95%CI, −0.24, −0.10, p ≤ 0.001), and cognitive functioning (β, −0.25, 95%CI, −0.31, −0.18, p ≤ 0.001). Associations represented a decline from childhood health. Associations persisted after controlling individually for tobacco smoking, antipsychotic medication use, midlife illnesses, maltreatment, socioeconomic status, incarceration, and childhood self-control difficulties. However, the cumulative effect of these lifestyle characteristics together explained why LCP offenders have a faster Pace of Aging than their peers. While older adults typically age-out of crime, LCP offenders will likely age-into the healthcare system earlier than their chronologically same-aged peers. Preventing young people from offending is likely to have substantial benefits for health, and people engaging in a LCP trajectory of antisocial behaviors might be the most in need of health promotion programs. We offer prevention and intervention strategies to reduce the financial burden of offenders on healthcare systems and improve their wellbeing.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Life-Course Persistent Antisocial Behavior and Accelerated Biological Aging in a Longitudinal Birth Cohort

Langevin

Caspi

Barnes

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…, 51]. Second, the rate of death among LCP offenders in our sample was relatively low, whereas American studies report elevated rates of early death for LCP offenders [48,63]. Thus, death rates may somewhat differ according to availability of free universal healthcare and degree of firearms control.…”

Section: Actionable Recommendations: What Can Be Done?mentioning

confidence: 81%

Life-Course Persistent Antisocial Behavior and Accelerated Biological Aging in a Longitudinal Birth Cohort

Langevin¹,

Caspi²,

Barnes³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Prior research shows that individuals who have exhibited antisocial behavior are in poorer health than their same-aged peers. A major driver of poor health is aging itself, yet research has not investigated relationships between offending trajectories and biological aging. We tested the hypothesis that individuals following a life-course persistent (LCP) antisocial trajectory show accelerated aging in midlife. Trajectories of antisocial behavior from age 7 to 26 years were studied in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a population-representative birth cohort (N=1037). Signs of aging were assessed at age 45 years using previously validated measures including biomarkers, clinical tests, and self-reports. First, we tested whether the association between antisocial behavior trajectories and midlife signs of faster aging represented a decline from initial childhood health. We then tested whether decline was attributable to tobacco smoking, antipsychotic medication use, debilitating illnesses in adulthood, adverse exposures in childhood (maltreatment, socioeconomic disadvantage) and adulthood (incarceration), and to childhood self-control difficulties. Study members with a history of antisocial behavior had a significantly faster pace of biological aging by midlife, and this was most evident among individuals following the LCP trajectory (β, .22, 95%CI, .14, .28, p.001). This amounted to 4.3 extra years of biological aging between ages 25-45 years for Study members following the LCP trajectory compared to low-antisocial trajectory individuals. LCP offenders also experienced more midlife difficulties with hearing (β, -.14, 95%CI, -.21, -.08, p.001), balance (β, -.13, 95%CI, -.18, -.06, p.001), gait speed (β, -.18, 95%CI, -.24, -.10, p.001), and cognitive functioning (β, -.25, 95%CI, -.31, -.18, p.001). Associations represented a decline from childhood health. Associations persisted after controlling individually for tobacco smoking, antipsychotic medication use, midlife illnesses, maltreatment, socioeconomic status, incarceration, and childhood self-control difficulties. However, the cumulative effect of these lifestyle characteristics together explained why LCP offenders have a faster Pace of Aging than their peers. While older adults typically age-out of crime, LCP offenders will likely age-into the healthcare system earlier than their chronologically same-aged peers. Preventing young people from offending is likely to have substantial benefits for health, and people engaging in a LCP trajectory of antisocial behaviors might be the most in need of health promotion programs. We offer prevention and intervention strategies to reduce the financial burden of offenders on health care systems and improve their wellbeing.

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“…Two complementary studies published in JAMA Network Open shed light on the association between incarceration and mortality (Bovell-Ammon et al and Ruch et al). Bovell-Ammon et al explore the association between incarceration and mortality using cohort data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) from 1979 to 2018.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The research of Ruch et al followed up a cohort of incarcerated youth in Ohio from 2010 to 2017 to investigate how their mortality rates contrast with nonincarcerated peers who were enrolled in Medicaid. They found that the all-cause mortality rate for incarcerated youth was significantly higher than that for Medicaid-enrolled youth (adjusted incidence rate ratio, 5.91; 95% CI, 4.90-7.13), with Black youth more likely to die from homicide, while White youth were more likely to die at higher rates from suicide and drug overdose.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both studies provide clear empirical support of what Jared Sexton, PhD, refers to as the “assault on Black public health.” The criminal justice system is not only a “manifestation of structural racism,” but it also produces health disparities through the life-depleting effects experienced by Black individuals, rendering the carceral state a contributor to racial violence. Indeed, the slow death that both Ruch et al and Bovell-Ammon et al identify should be thought of in relation to other direct and brutal forms of anti-Black state violence that is so often committed by agents of the criminal justice system . Moreover, it is precisely the dispersed and banal processes that render the mortality risks of incarceration so profoundly devastating, as they reflect the wearing down and utter exhaustion of life lived under regimes of racial violence …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mass Incarceration and Inmate Mortality in the United States—Death by Design?

2021

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Two complementary studies published in JAMA Network Open shed light on the association between incarceration and mortality (Bovell-Ammon et al 1 and Ruch et al 2 ). Bovell-Ammon et al 1 explore the association between incarceration and mortality using cohort data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) from 1979 to 2018. They found that, nationally, exposure to incarceration was associated with a significant increase in mortality among Black participants compared with non-Black participants (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.18-2.31). The authors interpret their findings in the context of structural racism, wherein the disproportionate incarceration of African Americans is deeply connected to underlying socioeconomic risk factors. They suggest that incarceration is a key mechanism in life-expectancy differences between Black and other populations, and as such, the prison system, as well as the overexposure of African Americans to it, constitutes a crucial focal point for social and health policy intervention.The research of Ruch et al 2 followed up a cohort of incarcerated youth in Ohio from 2010 to 2017 to investigate how their mortality rates contrast with nonincarcerated peers who were enrolled in Medicaid. They found that the all-cause mortality rate for incarcerated youth was significantly higher than that for Medicaid-enrolled youth (adjusted incidence rate ratio, 5.91; 95% CI, 4.90-7.13), with Black youth more likely to die from homicide, while White youth were more likely to die at higher rates from suicide and drug overdose. An important finding from their study is that previously

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Mortality and Cause of Death Among Youths Previously Incarcerated in the Juvenile Legal System

Cited by 12 publications

References 49 publications

Life-Course Persistent Antisocial Behavior and Accelerated Biological Aging in a Longitudinal Birth Cohort

Life-Course Persistent Antisocial Behavior and Accelerated Biological Aging in a Longitudinal Birth Cohort

Life-Course Persistent Antisocial Behavior and Accelerated Biological Aging in a Longitudinal Birth Cohort

Mass Incarceration and Inmate Mortality in the United States—Death by Design?

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