Childhood Misfortune and Handgrip Strength Among Black, White, and Hispanic Americans.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Although early-life insults may affect health, few studies use objective physical measures of adult health. This study investigated whether experiencing misfortune during childhood is associated with handgrip strength (HGS) in later life.

Method

Data on childhood misfortune and adult characteristics from the Health and Retirement Study were used to predict baseline and longitudinal change in HGS among White, Black, and Hispanic American men and women.

Results

Regression analyses revealed that multiple indicators of childhood misfortune were related to HGS at baseline, but the relationships were distinct for men and women. Over the study, having one childhood impairment predicted steeper declines in HGS for men, but childhood misfortune was unrelated to HGS c

SUBMITTER: Smith NR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6377034 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature