Do early-life conditions predict functional health status in adulthood? The case of Mexico

Abstract

Relatively few researchers have investigated early antecedents of adult functional limitations in developing countries. In this study, we assessed associations between childhood conditions and adult lower-body functional limitations (LBFL) as well as the potential mediating role of adult socioeconomic status, smoking, body mass index, and chronic diseases or symptoms. Based on data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) of individuals born prior to 1951 and contacted in 2001 and 2003, we found that childhood nutritional deprivation, serious health problems, and family background predict adult LBFL in Mexico. Adjustment for the potential mediators in adulthood attenuates these associations only to a modest degree.

Families and Health: A Review

“…Along the same lines, poor childhood health was shown to have long-term negative effects on, for example, individuals' functional status (e.g., Haas 2008;Huang et al 2011) and chronic health conditions (e.g., Blackwell et al 2001;Haas 2007). Despite being correlated with each other, early health and SES also appear to bear independent associations with adult health.…”

“…Next to showing a consistently negative correlation between low early-life SES and self-rated health in adulthood, studies also revealed a significant relationship between childhood SES and older adults' risk of suffering from functional limitations (e.g., Haas 2008;Huang et al 2011;Wen and Gu 2011), cognitive impairment (e.g., Wen and Gu 2011;Zhang et al 2008), as well as chronic conditions and depressive symptoms (e.g., Luo and Waite 2005;Pavela and Latham 2016). Along the same lines, poor childhood health was shown to have long-term negative effects on, for example, individuals' functional status (e.g., Haas 2008;Huang et al 2011) and chronic health conditions (e.g., Blackwell et al 2001;Haas 2007).…”

“…On one hand, early nutritional deprivation, for example, might directly initiate negative health trajectories during the individual's childhood, which may persist or even aggravate during the ageing process, independent of adult SES ('latency model'; e.g., Huang et al 2011;Zhang et al 2008). On the other hand, poor health and economic deprivation in childhood might impact later life health indirectly through impaired adult socioeconomic attainment ('pathway model'; e.g., Case et al 2005;Haas 2008).…”

Feeding Children in a Rural Area: Proper Nutrition and Psycho-Social Development

“…Despite the documented reductions [2,3], the prevalence of stunting remains high, particularly among lower income and indigenous infants and children. Early malnutrition appears moreover to have late consequences, as considered from Huang [10], that analyzed the effect of early life conditions on functional health status in adulthood. His retrievals showed that childhood nutritional deprivation and poor health as well as low socio-economic status of the family of origin were significant predictors of adult dysfunctionalities.…”

Early-Life Environmental Exposures and Height, Hypertension, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Older Adults in India

“…Support for this hypothesis comes mainly from studies documenting positive associations between early life and adult mortality among historical European cohorts (Beltrán-Sánchez et al 2012; Bengtsson and Lindstrom 2000, 2003; Bozzoli et al 2009). Studies of postnatal early life conditions in developing countries have found that adverse childhood conditions increase the risk of adult CVD, diabetes, and disability (Huang et al 2011; Kohler and Soldo 2005; Monteverde et al 2009; Palloni et al 2005). …”