Life-course socio-economic status and its impact on functional health of Portuguese older adults.
J Biosoc Sci
; 56(1): 36-49, 2024 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37309019
ABSTRACT
Functional health is arguably one of the most important health indicators for older adults, because it assesses physical, cognitive and social functions in combination. However, life-course circumstances may impact this multidimensional construct. The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between life-course socio-economic status (SES) and different dimensions of functional health in older adults. Data on 821 Portuguese adults aged 50 years and over in 2013-2015 were analysed. Life-course SES was computed using participants' paternal occupation (non-manual (nm); manual (m)) and own occupation (nm; m), resulting in four patterns stable high (nm + nm), upward (m + nm), downward (nm + m) and stable low (m + m). Functional health included physical and mental functioning, cognitive function, handgrip strength, and walking speed. Linear (beta coefficients) and logistic regressions (odds ratios) were used to estimate the association between life-course SES and functional health.Overall, those who accumulated social disadvantage during life-course presented worse functional health than those with stable high SES (stable low - SF-36 physical functioning ß = -9.75; 95% CI -14.34; -5.15; SF-36 mental health ß = -7.33; 95% CI -11.55; -3.11; handgrip strength ß = -1.60; 95% CI -2.86; -0.35; walking time, highest tertile OR = 5.28; 95% CI 3.07; 9.09). Those with an upward SES were not statistically different from those in the stable high SES for most of the health outcomes; however, those with an upward SES trajectory tended to have higher odds of cognitive impairment (OR = 1.75; 95% CI 0.96; 3.19). A downward SES trajectory increased the odds of slower walking speed (OR = 4.62; 95% CI 1.78; 11.95). A disadvantaged life-course SES impacts older adults' physical and mental functioning. For some outcomes, this was attenuated by a favourable adulthood SES but those with a stable low SES consistently presented worse functional health.
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Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Força da Mão
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Status Econômico
Tipo de estudo:
Health_economic_evaluation
Limite:
Adult
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Aged
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Humans
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Middle aged
País como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article