Beyond the social gradient: the role of lifelong socioeconomic status in older adults' health trajectories.

ABSTRACT: Inequalities in older adults' health rarely consider life-course aspects of socioeconomic status (SES). We examined the association between lifelong SES and old-age health trajectories, and explored the role of lifestyle factors and depressive symptoms in this association. We followed 2760 adults aged 60+ from the Swedish National Study on Care and Aging, Kungsholmen. SES groups were derived using latent class analysis incorporating seven socioeconomic measures spanning childhood, midlife, and late life. We measured health using the Health Assessment Tool, which combines gait speed, cognition, multimorbidity, and disability. Linear mixed models were used to estimate health trajectories. Four SES groups were identified: High (34.9%), Middle (40.2%), Low (21.2%), and Mixed (3.8%). The Mixed

SUBMITTER: Harber-Aschan L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7803509 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature