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Economic stress in childhood and adulthood, and self-rated health: a population based study concerning risk accumulation, critical period and social mobility

Lindström, Martin LU ; Hansen, Kristina LU and Rosvall, Maria LU (2012) In BMC Public Health 12.
Abstract
Background: Research in recent decades increasingly indicates the importance of conditions in early life for health in adulthood. Only few studies have investigated socioeconomic conditions in both childhood and adulthood in relation to health testing the risk accumulation, critical period, and social mobility hypotheses within the same setting. This study investigates the associations between economic stress in childhood and adulthood, and self-rated health with reference to the accumulation, critical period and social mobility hypotheses in life course epidemiology, taking demographic, social support, trust and lifestyle factors into account. Methods: The public health survey in Skane (southern Sweden) in 2008 is a cross-sectional postal... (More)
Background: Research in recent decades increasingly indicates the importance of conditions in early life for health in adulthood. Only few studies have investigated socioeconomic conditions in both childhood and adulthood in relation to health testing the risk accumulation, critical period, and social mobility hypotheses within the same setting. This study investigates the associations between economic stress in childhood and adulthood, and self-rated health with reference to the accumulation, critical period and social mobility hypotheses in life course epidemiology, taking demographic, social support, trust and lifestyle factors into account. Methods: The public health survey in Skane (southern Sweden) in 2008 is a cross-sectional postal questionnaire study based on a random sample, in which 28,198 persons aged 18-80 years participated (55% participation). Logistic regression models were used to investigate associations between economic stress in childhood and adulthood, and self-rated health. Results: Three life-course socioeconomic models concerning the association between economic stress and self-rated health (SRH) were investigated. The results showed a graded association between the combined effect of childhood and adulthood economic stress and poor SRH in accordance with the accumulation hypothesis. Furthermore, upward social mobility showed a protecting effect and downward mobility increased odds ratios of poor SRH in accordance with the social mobility hypothesis. High/severe economic stress exposures in both stages of life were independently associated with poor SRH in adulthood. Furthermore, stratifying the study population into six age groups showed similar odds ratios of poor SRH regarding economic stress exposure in childhood and adulthood in all age groups among both men and women. Conclusions: The accumulation and social mobility hypotheses were confirmed. The critical period model was confirmed in the sense that both economic stress in childhood and adulthood had independent effects on poor SRH. However, it was not confirmed in the sense that a particular window in time (in childhood or adulthood) had a specifically high impact on self-rated health. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Economic stress, self-rated health, Early life conditions, Life course, perspective, Accumulation, Critical period, Social mobility, Social, support, Trust, Sweden
in
BMC Public Health
volume
12
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • wos:000311099100001
  • scopus:84865993907
  • pmid:22962948
ISSN
1471-2458
DOI
10.1186/1471-2458-12-761
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
81abd78e-fc1c-4347-9bf1-4b338d04aed3 (old id 3252232)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:16:53
date last changed
2022-04-21 20:46:24
@article{81abd78e-fc1c-4347-9bf1-4b338d04aed3,
  abstract     = {{Background: Research in recent decades increasingly indicates the importance of conditions in early life for health in adulthood. Only few studies have investigated socioeconomic conditions in both childhood and adulthood in relation to health testing the risk accumulation, critical period, and social mobility hypotheses within the same setting. This study investigates the associations between economic stress in childhood and adulthood, and self-rated health with reference to the accumulation, critical period and social mobility hypotheses in life course epidemiology, taking demographic, social support, trust and lifestyle factors into account. Methods: The public health survey in Skane (southern Sweden) in 2008 is a cross-sectional postal questionnaire study based on a random sample, in which 28,198 persons aged 18-80 years participated (55% participation). Logistic regression models were used to investigate associations between economic stress in childhood and adulthood, and self-rated health. Results: Three life-course socioeconomic models concerning the association between economic stress and self-rated health (SRH) were investigated. The results showed a graded association between the combined effect of childhood and adulthood economic stress and poor SRH in accordance with the accumulation hypothesis. Furthermore, upward social mobility showed a protecting effect and downward mobility increased odds ratios of poor SRH in accordance with the social mobility hypothesis. High/severe economic stress exposures in both stages of life were independently associated with poor SRH in adulthood. Furthermore, stratifying the study population into six age groups showed similar odds ratios of poor SRH regarding economic stress exposure in childhood and adulthood in all age groups among both men and women. Conclusions: The accumulation and social mobility hypotheses were confirmed. The critical period model was confirmed in the sense that both economic stress in childhood and adulthood had independent effects on poor SRH. However, it was not confirmed in the sense that a particular window in time (in childhood or adulthood) had a specifically high impact on self-rated health.}},
  author       = {{Lindström, Martin and Hansen, Kristina and Rosvall, Maria}},
  issn         = {{1471-2458}},
  keywords     = {{Economic stress; self-rated health; Early life conditions; Life course; perspective; Accumulation; Critical period; Social mobility; Social; support; Trust; Sweden}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{BMC Public Health}},
  title        = {{Economic stress in childhood and adulthood, and self-rated health: a population based study concerning risk accumulation, critical period and social mobility}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/3275670/3596108.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/1471-2458-12-761}},
  volume       = {{12}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}