Survival of offspring who experience early parental death: early life conditions and later-life mortality.

ABSTRACT: We examine the influences of a set of early life conditions (ELCs) on all-cause and cause-specific mortality among elderly individuals, with special attention to one of the most dramatic early events in a child's, adolescent's, or even young adult's life, the death of a parent. The foremost question is, once controlling for prevailing (and potentially confounding) conditions early in life (family history of longevity, paternal characteristics (SES, age at time of birth, sibship size, and religious affiliation)), is a parental death associated with enduring mortality risks after age 65? The years following parental death may initiate new circumstances through which the adverse effects of paternal death operate. Here we consider the offspring's marital status (whether married; whether and wh

SUBMITTER: Smith KR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4087105 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature