Journal
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES B-PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Volume 75, Issue 6, Pages 1264-1274Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbz081
Keywords
Gender; Childhood; SES; Cumulative inequality; BMI; Life course
Funding
- National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health [R00AG052458]
- National Institute on Aging [P01AG020166]
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Midlife Development
- General Clinical Research Centers Program [M01RR023942, M01RR00865]
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Objectives: Socioeconomic status (SES) is among the strongest determinants of body mass index (BMI), particularly for women. For older populations, selection bias due to attrition is a large barrier to assessing the accumulation of inequality. Under multiple missing data mechanisms, we investigated the extent to which childhood and midlife SES affects BMI from midlife to old age and gender differences in the association. Method: Data come from a longitudinal national study of 2,345 U.S. adults aged 40-54 at baseline. We used latent growth models to estimate BMI trajectory over a period of 20 years. We examined results under different missing data patterns and applied methods that account for nonrandom-selection bias. Results: Compared with individuals who had higher childhood SES, individuals who had lower childhood SES have higher BMI in midlife and experience a faster increase in BMI between midlife and old age. The observed associations remain significant even after controlling for midlife SES. After addressing nonrandom selection, the gap in BMI between high and low childhood SES widens from midlife to old age for women. Discussion: The findings provide new evidence of cumulative inequality among older adults, documenting increasing BMI inequality from midlife to old age, particularly for women from low-SES families.
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