Childhood conditions and current physical performance among non-institutionalized individuals aged 50+ in Israel

Abstract

Adverse socioeconomic conditions in childhood have been previously linked with high risk of various health conditions. However, the association with future physical function has been less studied. Hand grip strength and chair-rising time are objective measures of physical capability indicating current and future health outcomes. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that perceived socio-economic status in childhood is related to current measures of physical function, among Israeli participants of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe project. The study included 2300 participants aged 50 years or older (mean age 68 ± 10; 56 % women). Generalized linear regression models were used to examine the associations of childhood wealth and number of books in residence with grip strength and time to complete five rises from a chair. Logistic regression models were used to assess the relationships between the early life conditions and the ability to perform the physical tests. Adjustment was made for current income or household wealth, and for demographic, anthropometric, health, and life-style measures. Being wealthy and having a large number of books at home in childhood was associated with a stronger hand grip and a better chair-rise test performance. These associations were more robust in women compared to men, and persisted after adjustment for potential covariates. In addition, childhood wealth and number of books were associated with lower risk of being unable to perform the tests. Thus, early-life programming may contribute to physical function indicators in mid- and late-life.

Childhood socioeconomic position and physical capability in late-middle age in two birth cohorts from the Copenhagen aging and midlife biobank

“…However, considerable heterogeneity is observed across studies and it is unknown whether this represents actual differences or differences in SEP indicators and/or outcome measures [ 4 ]. Previous findings are also inconsistent in relation to potential sex interactions with some reporting no difference [ 1 , 3 – 5 ], while others do find different associations [ 6 , 7 , 12 ]. Hypothesized explanations include that women could be more vulnerable to stress (e.g.…”

“…Literature suggests that the well-established social gradient in physical capability partly originates in early life [ 1 – 12 ]. The relation is suggested to pass through intermediate factors such as childhood growth and development (cognitive and physiological), adult socioeconomic position (SEP), health behavior and health status [ 5 , 13 ].…”

“…Previous evidence has shown that higher childhood SEP is modestly but consistently related to more favorable scores on adult chair rise performance, hand grip strength, and walking speed on an absolute scale and standing balance on a relative scale with adult SEP possibly explaining some of the relationships [ 4 – 6 , 12 ]. However, considerable heterogeneity is observed across studies and it is unknown whether this represents actual differences or differences in SEP indicators and/or outcome measures [ 4 ].…”

“…Hypothesized explanations include that women could be more vulnerable to stress (e.g. from being in low SEP) than men, and that they tend to use emotional coping strategies instead of problem-focused [ 12 ]. Early life SEP is also suggested to be more strongly related to health behaviors such as smoking and physical activity in women than men [ 7 ].…”

Antecedents of late life outcomes: the case of Israel

“…Weinstein (2016) addresses the impact of perceived early-life SES conditions on healthy ageing. A new retrospective ''mini-childhood'' module, which was incorporated for the first time in the third wave of SHARE-Israel (corresponding to Wave five in SHARE in Europe), assessed the number of books in one's childhood home and perceived financial status in childhood.…”