Department of Sociology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Center on Aging and the Life Course, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2019 Jan 1;74(1):170-180. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gby039.
Although previous research reveals the detrimental effects of early misfortune on the development of chronic diseases in later life, few studies have investigated its effects on remaining disease free. This study draws on cumulative inequality theory to investigate whether experiencing childhood misfortune reduces the likelihood of remaining disease free over time.
This study utilizes five waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study to test whether five domains of childhood misfortune predict being disease free at baseline (2004) and developing disease over time (2004-2012).
Respondents reporting risky parental behaviors during childhood were less likely to be disease free at baseline and had an increased risk of disease onset over time, the latter driven by having a guardian who smoked in combination with more pack-years smoked in adulthood. Furthermore, we find that adult resources, that is wealth, help to mitigate the noxious effects of other misfortunes, notably poor socioeconomic conditions.
Consistent with cumulative inequality theory, these findings reveal that experiencing multiple types of misfortune during childhood decreases the likelihood of remaining disease free in later life, but engaging in health behaviors, such as physical activity, can help to ameliorate some of the noxious effects of early misfortune.
尽管先前的研究揭示了早年不幸对晚年慢性疾病发展的不利影响，但很少有研究调查其对无病生存的影响。本研究借鉴累积不平等理论，探讨经历童年不幸是否会降低随着时间的推移无病生存的可能性。
本研究利用健康与退休研究的五波数据，检验童年不幸的五个领域是否预测在基线时（2004 年）无病生存以及随着时间的推移（2004-2012 年）发生疾病。
报告在童年时期经历过父母危险行为的受访者在基线时更不可能无病生存，并且随着时间的推移发病的风险增加，后者的驱动因素是成年后有一个吸烟的监护人，并且吸烟量更大。此外，我们发现，成年资源，即财富，有助于减轻其他不幸的有害影响，特别是贫困的社会经济条件。
与累积不平等理论一致，这些发现表明，在童年时期经历多种类型的不幸会降低晚年无病生存的可能性，但参与健康行为，如体育活动，可以帮助减轻早期不幸的一些有害影响。
