Early adulthood socioeconomic trajectories contribute to inequalities in adult diet quality, independent of childhood and adulthood socioeconomic position.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Diet is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and shows well-established socioeconomic patterning among adults. However, less clear is how socioeconomic inequalities in diet develop across the life course. This study assessed the associations of early adulthood socioeconomic trajectories (SETs) with adult diet quality, adjusting for childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) and testing for mediation by adulthood SEP.

Methods

Participants from the 1970 British Cohort Study with socioeconomic data in early adulthood were included (n=12 434). Diet quality at age 46 years, evaluated using the Mediterranean diet pyramid, was regressed on six previously identified classes of early adulthood SETs between ages 16 and 24 years including a continued education cla

SUBMITTER: Tao Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11874354 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature