Gender and Life Course Occupational Social Class Differences in Trajectories of Functional Limitations in Midlife: Findings From the 1946 British Birth Cohort

Emily T. Murray · Rebecca Hardy · Bjørn Heine Strand · Rachel Cooper · Jack M. Guralnik · Diana J. Kuh

67 citations0/0 files storedThe Journals of Gerontology Series A

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Health disparities and outcomes Retirement, Disability, and Employment Aging, Health, and Disability

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Older women and those of lower socioeconomic position (SEP) consistently constitute a larger portion of the disabled population than older men or those of higher SEP, yet no studies have examined when in the life course these differences emerge. METHODS: Prevalence of self-reported limitations in the upper body (gripping or reaching) and lower body (walking or stair climbing) at 43 and 53 years were utilized from 1,530 men and 1,518 women from the British 1946 birth cohort. Generalized linear models with a binomial distribution were used to examine the effects of gender, childhood and adult SEP, and the differences in the SEP effects by gender on the prevalence of limitations at age 43 years and changes in prevalence from 43 to 53 years. RESULTS: For both genders, the prevalence of upper and lower body limitations were reported at 3%-5% at age 43 years. However, by age 53 years, women's upper body limitations had increased to 28% and lower body limitations to 21%, whereas men's limitations had only increased to 12% and 11%, respectively. Men and women whose father's occupation was manual or whose adult head of household occupation was manual had higher prevalence of both limitations compared with those with non-manual backgrounds. These differences widened with age, especially in women. The effect of adult SEP on the prevalence of limitations was stronger than that of childhood SEP and was partly mediated by educational attainment. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide the first evidence that prevention of disability in old age should begin early in midlife, especially for women from manual occupation households.

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References

2015Older Adults' Reasons for Using Technology while Aging in Place 2005Indicators of socioeconomic position (part 1): Figure 1 2006Indicators of socioeconomic position (part 2)2008Trajectories of functional health: The ‘long arm’ of childhood health and socioeconomic factors 1995Behavioral and Psychosocial Predictors of Physical Performance: MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging 1996Differentials in Active Life Expectancy in the Older Population of the United States 2001Preparing for an Aging World: The Case for Cross-National Research 2006Childhood Socioeconomic Status Predicts Physical Functioning a Half Century Later

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2013Critical concepts in elder abuse research 2013Associations of Childhood Socioeconomic Status and Adulthood Height With Functional Limitations Among Japanese Older People: Results From the JAGES 2010 Project 2014Social Class Differences in Physical Functions in Middle-Aged Men and Women 2013Relationship of race-ethnicity, body mass index, and economic strain with longitudinal self-report of physical functioning: the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation

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