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. 2021 Sep:49:100415.
doi: 10.1016/j.alcr.2021.100415. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

Lifetime socioeconomic determinants of health trajectories among older adults

Alejandra Letelier  1 , Ignacio Madero-Cabib  2 , Eduardo A Undurraga  3 , Pedro Pérez-Cruz  4
Affiliations

Lifetime socioeconomic determinants of health trajectories among older adults

Alejandra Letelier et al. Adv Life Course Res. 2021 Sep.

Abstract

Drawing on life course theory and research, we explored how socioeconomic circumstances during childhood and adulthood shape self-reported health trajectories among older Mexican adults. We used data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study panel survey (2001-2015) and used sequence analysis to estimate types of self-reported health trajectories in older adulthood. We then explored the association between those health trajectories and socioeconomic determinants at different life stages, including education, occupation, employment, economic status, parental education, and adverse living conditions and illnesses during childhood. Our contributions are threefold. First, we identified four types of health trajectories for men and eight for women, representing a more nuanced longitudinal health status profile than previously shown. Second, we found that childhood and adult socioeconomic circumstances influence self-reported health trajectories at older age. Third, our results suggest there is no simple monotonic relationship between life course circumstances and self-reported health trajectories.

Keywords: Health trajectories; Mexico; aging; life course; socioeconomic position; vulnerability.

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Figures

Appendix A.
Appendix A.
Solution of weighted types of health trajectories for men and women with imputation and with no imputation on missing values
Appendix B.
Appendix B.
Results of average silhouette width index (A) and weighted types of health trajectories over the whole sample (women and men together) (B)
Appendix H.
Appendix H.
Three-cluster solution of weighted types of health trajectories for women
Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Average silhouette width index for older adults (A: men; B: women)
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Weighted types of health trajectories for men and women
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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