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. 2024 Aug 25;78(10):650-653.
doi: 10.1136/jech-2022-220163.

Intergenerational transmission of health inequalities: research agenda for a life course approach to socioeconomic inequalities in health

Tanja A J Houweling  1 , Ilona Grünberger  2
Affiliations

Intergenerational transmission of health inequalities: research agenda for a life course approach to socioeconomic inequalities in health

Tanja A J Houweling et al. J Epidemiol Community Health. .

Abstract

Explanations for socioeconomic inequalities in adult health are usually sought in behaviours and environments in adulthood. Yet, there is compelling evidence that the first two decades of life contribute substantially to both adult socioeconomic position (SEP) and adult health. This has implications for explanatory health inequalities research.We propose an analytical framework to advance research on the intergenerational transmission of health inequalities, that is, on intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic and associated health (dis)advantages at the family level, and its contribution to health inequalities at the population level. The framework distinguishes three transmission pathways: (1) intergenerational transmission of SEP, with effects on offspring health fully mediated by offspring SEP; (2) intergenerational transmission of health problems affecting SEP and (3) intergenerational transmission of both SEP and health, without a causal relationship between offspring adult SEP and health. We describe areas for future research along this framework and discuss the challenges and opportunities to advance this field.

Keywords: CHILD HEALTH; Health inequalities; Life course epidemiology; PUBLIC HEALTH.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Traditional framework for explaining socioeconomic health inequalities. SEP, socioeconomic position.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Conceptual framework for the intergenerational transmission of health inequalities. Three models of intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic health inequalities: (1) socioeconomic transmission: intergenerational transmission of SEP, combined with an effect of offspring adult SEP on health; (2) health transmission: intergenerational transmission of parental health problems that affect SEP; (3) sociobiological transmission: parental SEP influences both offspring SEP and offspring health (determinants). SEP, socioeconomic position.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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