Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T23:25:56.443Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

CONTRASTING CONCURRENT AND CHILDHOOD SOCIOECONOMIC PREDICTORS OF SELF-RATED HEALTH AMONG OLDER EUROPEAN MEN AND WOMEN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2016

Georgia Verropoulou  and
Maria Zakynthinou
Georgia Verropoulou*
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics and Insurance Science, University of Piraeus, Greece
Maria Zakynthinou
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics and Insurance Science, University of Piraeus, Greece
*
1Corresponding author. Email: gverrop@unipi.gr
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

This study aimed to assess the relative importance of childhood and adulthood socioeconomic position (SEP) on the self-rated health (SRH) of men and women aged 50 or higher in Europe, controlling for a substantial number of mediators and health conditions. Data from Wave 2 (current data) and Wave 3 (retrospective material) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were combined (N=20,829) and logistic regression models applied; the analysis was carried out for males and females separately. The findings indicate that concurrent and past SEP, when considered separately, are both very significant predictors of SRH. When all factors were included in a comprehensive model most childhood and adult SEP variables retained their significance, implying that both types of socioeconomic circumstances have a strong and independent effect on SRH. However, the relative importance of several childhood indicators was reduced, signifying that their effect on SRH is mediated by adult SEP and, especially, educational attainment. Some childhood predictors, such as having experienced a period of hunger, remained very significant. Though these findings roughly hold for both sexes, the relative effects differentiate by sex. Current SEP is more important among women, with the exception of income and ‘making ends meet in the household’. Childhood SEP indicators are more significant among men.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 49 , Issue 4 , July 2017 , pp. 478 - 497
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press, 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adena, M. & Myck, M. (2013) Poverty and Transitions in Health. DIW Berlin Discussion Paper No. 1319. German Institute for Economic Research Discussion Paper Series. URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2327439##.Google Scholar
Adler, N. & Neuman, K. (2002) Socioeconomic disparities in health: pathways and policies. Health Affairs 21(2), 60–76.Google Scholar
Benyamini, Y., Boyko, V., Blumstein, T. & Lerner-Geva, L. (2014) Health, cultural and socioeconomic factors related to self-rated health of long-term Jewish residents, immigrants, and Arab women in midlife in Israel. Women & Health 54(5), 402–424.Google Scholar
Börsch-Supan, A., Brandt, M., Hunkler, C., Kneip, T., Korbmacher, J., Malter, F. et al. (2013) Data resource profile: the survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). International Journal of Epidemiology 42(4), 992–001.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Börsch-Supan, A., Brugiavini, A., Jϋrges, H., Kapteyn, A., Mackenbach, J., Siegrist, J. & Weber, G. (2008) First Results from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004–2007). Starting the Longitudinal Dimension. Manheim Research Institute for the Economics of Ageing, Manheim, Germany.Google Scholar
Börsch-Supan, A. & Jϋrges, H. (2005) The Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe. Methodology. Manheim Research Institute for the Economics of Ageing, Manheim, Germany.Google Scholar
Browning, M. & Madsen, E. (2005) Consumption. In Börsch-Supan, A., Brugiavini, A., Jϋrges, H., Mackenbach, J., Siegrist, J. & Weber, G. (eds) First Results from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Manheim Research Institute for the Economics of Ageing, Manheim, Germany, pp. 318–324.Google Scholar
Case, A., Fetig, A. A. & Paxson, C. (2005) The lasting impact of childhood health and circumstance. Journal of Health Economics 24(2), 365–369.Google Scholar
Cavapozzi, D., Garrouste, C. & Paccagnela, O. (2011) Childhood, schooling and income inequality. In Börsch-Supan, A., Brandt, M., Hank, K. & Schröder, M. (eds) The Individual and the Welfare State. Life Histories in Europe. Springer, Berlin, pp. 31–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cavapozzi, D., Paccagnela, O. & Weber, G. (2008) Income and Income changes. In Börsch-Supan, A., Brugiavini, A., Jϋrges, H., Kapteyn, A., Mackenbach, J., Siegrist, J. & Weber, G. (eds) First Results from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004–2007). Starting the Longitudinal Dimension. Manheim Research Institute for the Economics of Ageing, Manheim, Germany, pp. 272–277.Google Scholar
Christelis, D. (2013) Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Release Guide 2.6.0 Waves 1 & 2. Manheim Research Institute for the Economics of Ageing, Manheim, Germany, pp. 23–29.Google Scholar
Christelis, D., Jappeli, T. & Padula, M. (2005) Wealth and portfolio composition. In Börsch-Supan, A., Brugiavini, A., Jϋrges, H., Mackenbach, J., Siegrist, J. & Weber, G. (eds) First Results from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Manheim Research Institute for the Economics of Ageing, Manheim, Germany, pp. 310–317.Google Scholar
Cohen, S., Janicki-Deverts, D., Chen, E. & Matthews, K. (2010) Childhood socioeconomic status and adult health. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1186, 37–55.Google Scholar
Drakopoulos, S. A., Lakioti, E. & Theodosiou, I. (2010) Childhood socioeconomic deprivation and later adulthood health. International Journal of Social Economics 38(1), 23–38.Google Scholar
Dubikaytis, T., Härkänen, T., Regushevskaya, E., Hemminki, E., Haavio-Mannila, E., Laanpere, M. et al. (2014) Socioeconomic differences in self-rated health among women: a comparison of St. Petersburg to Estonia and Finland. International Journal for Equity in Health 13(1), 1–11.Google Scholar
Garrouste, C. & Paccagnella, O. (2011) Data quality: three examples of consistency across SHARE and SHARELIFE data. In Schröder, M. (ed.) Retrospective Data Collection in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. SHARELIFE Methodology. Manheim Research Institute for the Economics of Ageing, Manheim, Germany, pp. 62–73.Google Scholar
Griffin, J. H., Fuhrer, R., Stansfeld, A. S. & Marmot, M. (2002) The importance of low control at work and home on depression and anxiety: do these effects vary by gender and social class? Social Science & Medicine 54, 783–798.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grundy, E. & Holt, G. (2001) The socioeconomic status of older adults: how should we measure it in studies of health inequalities? Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 55, 895–904.Google Scholar
Hagger-Johnson, G., Batty, G. D., Deary, I. J. & Von Stumm, S. (2011) Childhood socioeconomic status and adult health: comparing formative and reflective models in the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s Study (prospective cohort study). Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 65(11), 1024–1029.Google Scholar
Halmdienst, N. & Winter-Ebmer, R. (2013) Long-run effects of childhood shocks on health in late adulthood. The Australian Center for Labor Economics and the Analysis of the Welfare State. Working Paper No. 1301. URL: http://www.labornrn.at/wp/2013/wp1301.pdf.Google Scholar
Havari, E. & Perrachi, F. (2011) Childhood circumstances and adult outcomes: evidence from World War II. EIEF (EINAUDI Institute for Economics and Finance) Working Paper 15/11. URL: http://www.eief.it/files/2012/09/wp-15-childhood-circumstances-and-adult-outcomes_evidence-from-world-war-ii.pdf.Google Scholar
Huismann, M., Kunst, A. E. & Mackenbach, J. P. (2004) Socioeconomic inequalities in morbidity among the elderly; a European overview. Social Science & Medicine 57, 861–873.Google Scholar
Hyde, M., Jakub, H., Melchior, M., Van Ort, F. & Weyers, S. (2006) Comparison of the effects of low childhood socioeconomic position and low adulthood socioeconomic position on SRH in four European studies. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 60(10), 882–886.Google Scholar
Idler, E. L. & Benyamini, Y. (1997) Self-rated health and mortality: a review of twenty-seven community studies. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 38, 21–37.Google Scholar
Idler, E. L. & Kasl, S. V. (1991) Health perceptions and survival: do global evaluations of health status really predict mortality? Journal of Gerontology 46(2), S55–S65.Google Scholar
Jϋrges, H. (2007) True health vs. response styles: exploring cross-country differences in self-reported health. Health Economics 16(2), 163–178.Google Scholar
Lindström, M., Hansen, K. & Rosvall, M. (2012) Economics stress in childhood and adulthood, and self-rated health: a population based study concerning risk accumulation, critical period and social mobility. BMC Public Health 12, 761.Google Scholar
Luo, Y. & Waite, L. J. (2005) The impact of childhood and adult SES on physical, mental, and cognitive well-being in later life. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences B 60(2), S93–S101.Google Scholar
Lyberaki, A. & Tinios, P. (2008) Poverty and persistent poverty: adding dynamics to familiar findings. In Börsch-Supan, A., Brugiavini, A., Jϋrges, H., Kapteyn, A., Mackenbach, J., Siegrist, J. & Weber, G. (eds) First Results from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004–2007). Starting the Longitudinal Dimension. Manheim Research Institute for the Economics of Ageing, Manheim, Germany.Google Scholar
Kirkpatrick, S. I., McIntyre, L. & Potestio, M. L. (2010) Child hunger and long-term adverse consequences for health. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 164(8), 754–762.Google Scholar
McEniry, M. (2013) Early-life conditions and older adult health in low-and middle-income countries: a review. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 4(1), 10–29.Google Scholar
Mackenbach, J. P., Meerding, W. J. & Kunst, A. (2007) Economic Implications of Socioeconomic Inequalities in Health in the European Union. Publication Office of European Communities (OIL), Luxembourg.Google Scholar
McKenzie, S. K. & Carter, K. N. (2009) Are retrospective measures of childhood socioeconomic position in prospective adult health surveys useful? Australian Epidemiologist 16(3), 22–24.Google Scholar
McKenzie, S. K., Carter, K. N., Blakely, T. & Ivory, V. (2011) Effects of childhood socioeconomic position on subjective health and health behaviors in adulthood: how much is mediated by adult socioeconomic position? BMC Public Health 11, 269.Google Scholar
Malter, F. & Börsch-Supan, A. (eds) (2013) SHARE Wave 4: Innovations & Methodology. MEA, Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, Munich.Google Scholar
Nicholson, A., Boback, M., Murphy, M., Rose, R. & Marmot, M. (2005) Socio-economic influences on self-rated health in Russian man and women – a life course approach. Social Science & Medicine 61(11), 2345–2354.Google Scholar
Numela, O. (2008) Trust, participation, and health among ageing people. A cross sectional cohort study of men and women born 1926–30, 1936–40, and 1946–50 in the Lahti Region, Southern Finland. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Helsinki, Finland. URL: https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/20333 Google Scholar
Poulton, R., Caspi, A., Milne, B. J., Thomson, W. M., Taylor, A., Sears, M. R. & Moffitt, T. E. (2002) Association between children's experience of socioeconomic disadvantage and adult health: a life-course study. The Lancet 360(9346), 1640–1645.Google Scholar
Read, S., Grundy, E. & Foverskov, E. (2015) Socioeconomic position and subjective health and well-being among older people in Europe: a systematic narrative review. Aging & Mental Health doi: 10.1080/13607863.2015.1023766.Google ScholarPubMed
Robine, J. M., Jagger, C. & Euro-REVES Group. (2003) Creating a coherent set of indicators to monitor health across Europe. European Journal of Public Health 13 (Supplement 3), 6–14.Google Scholar
Schröder, M. (2011) Retrospective Data Collection in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. SHARELIFE Methodology. Manheim, Research Institute for the Economics of Aging, Manheim, Germany.Google Scholar
Shavers, V. L. (2007) Measurement of socioeconomic status in health disparities research. Journal of the National Medical Association 99(9), 1013–1022.Google Scholar
Van Doorslaer, E. & Gerdtham, U. G. (2003) Does inequality in self-assessed health predict inequality in survival by income? Evidence from Swedish data. Social Science & Medicine 57, 1621–1629.Google Scholar
Verropoulou, G. (2009) Key elements composing self-rated health in older adults: a comparative study of 11 European countries. European Journal of Ageing 6(3), 213–226.Google Scholar
Verropoulou, G. (2014) Specific versus general self-reported health indicators predicting mortality among older adults in Europe: disparities by gender employing SHARE longitudinal data. International Journal of Public Health 59(4), 665–678.Google Scholar
Vuorisalmi, M., Pietilä, L., Fohjolainen, P. & Jylhä, M. (2008) Comparison of self-rated in older people of St. Petersburg, Russia, and Tampere, Finland: how sensitive is SRH to cross-cultural factors? European Journal of Ageing 5, 327–334.Google Scholar
Zimmer, Z., Natividad, J., Lin, H. S. & Chayovan, N. (2000) A cross-national examination of the determinants of self-assessed health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 41(4), 465–481.Google Scholar