Dataset Information

Childhood Misfortune and Handgrip Strength Among Black, White, and Hispanic Americans.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Although early-life insults may affect health, few studies use objective physical measures of adult health. This study investigated whether experiencing misfortune during childhood is associated with handgrip strength (HGS) in later life.

Method

Data on childhood misfortune and adult characteristics from the Health and Retirement Study were used to predict baseline and longitudinal change in HGS among White, Black, and Hispanic American men and women.

Results

Regression analyses revealed that multiple indicators of childhood misfortune were related to HGS at baseline, but the relationships were distinct for men and women. Over the study, having one childhood impairment predicted steeper declines in HGS for men, but childhood misfortune was unrelated to HGS change among women. Hispanic Americans had lower baseline HGS than their non-Hispanic counterparts and manifested steeper declines in HGS.

Discussion

The relationship between childhood exposures and adult HGS varied by the type of misfortune, but there was no evidence that the relationship varied by race/ethnicity. The significant and enduring Hispanic disadvantage in HGS warrants greater attention in gerontology.

SUBMITTER: Smith NR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6377034 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Childhood Misfortune and Handgrip Strength Among Black, White, and Hispanic Americans.

Smith Natalie R NR Ferraro Kenneth F KF Kemp Blakelee R BR Morton Patricia M PM Mustillo Sarah A SA Angel Jacqueline L JL

The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences 20190201 3

<h4>Objective</h4>Although early-life insults may affect health, few studies use objective physical measures of adult health. This study investigated whether experiencing misfortune during childhood is associated with handgrip strength (HGS) in later life.<h4>Method</h4>Data on childhood misfortune and adult characteristics from the Health and Retirement Study were used to predict baseline and longitudinal change in HGS among White, Black, and Hispanic American men and women.<h4>Results</h4>Regr ...[more]

PMID: 27927743

Similar Datasets

Project description:ObjectivesFactors that are responsible for age-related neurologic deterioration of noncognitive and cognitive processes may have a shared cause. We sought to examine the temporal, directional associations of handgrip strength and cognitive function in a national sample of aging Americans.DesignLongitudinal panel.SettingEnhanced interviews that included physical, biological, and psychosocial measures were completed in person. Core interviews were often conducted over the telephone.ParticipantsThe analytic sample included 14,775 Americans aged at least 50 years who participated in at least 2 waves of the 2006-2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study.MeasuresHandgrip strength was measured with a hand-held dynamometer. Participants were considered cognitively intact, mildly impaired, or severely impaired according to the Telephone Interview of Cognitive Status questionnaire. Separate lagged general estimating equations analyzed the directional associations of handgrip strength and cognitive function.ResultsThe overall time to follow-up was 2.1 ± 0.4 years. Every 5 kg higher handgrip strength was associated with 0.97 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.93, 0.99] lower odds for both future cognitive impairment and worse cognitive impairment. Those who were not weak had 0.54 (CI 0.43, 0.69) lower odds for future cognitive impairment and 0.57 (CI 0.46, 0.72) lower odds for future worse cognitive impairment. Conversely, any (β = -1.09; CI -1.54, -0.64), mild (β = -0.85; CI -1.34, -0.36), and severe cognitive impairment (β = -2.34; CI -3.25, -1.42) predicted decreased handgrip strength. Further, the presence of any, mild, and severe cognitive impairment was associated with 1.82 (CI 1.48, 2.24), 1.65 (CI 1.31, 2.08), and 2.53 (CI 1.74, 3.67) greater odds for future weakness, respectively.Conclusions/implicationsStrength capacity and cognitive function may parallel each other, whereby losses of functioning in 1 factor may forecast losses of functioning in the other. Handgrip strength could be used for assessing cognitive status in aging Americans and strength capacity should be monitored in those with cognitive impairment.

Project description:BackgroundThe association between stroke and dementia is well established. Less is known about this association in underrepresented ethnic groups. In a large ethnically diverse cohort, we examined whether history of stroke was associated with cognitive impairment, and whether this relationship differed by ethnicity (Mexican American [MA] versus non-Hispanic White).MethodsThis was a population-based cohort study conducted in Nueces County, TX, a biethnic community with a large and primarily nonimmigrant MA population. Residents aged ≥65 were recruited door-to-door or by telephone between May 2018 and December 2021. The primary exposure was history of stroke, obtained by self-report. Demographic, medical, and educational histories were also obtained. The primary outcome was the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), a scale that evaluates multiple domains of cognitive performance. Scores were divided into 3 ordinal categories, roughly corresponding to normal cognition (MoCA 26-30), mild cognitive impairment (MoCA 20-25), or probable dementia (MoCA 0-19).ResultsOne thousand eight hundred one participants completed MoCA screening (55% female; 50% MA, 44% Non-Hispanic White, 6% other), of whom 12.4% reported history of stroke. Stroke prevalence was similar across ethnicities (X2 2.1; P=0.34). In a multivariable cumulative logit regression model for the ordinal cognition outcome, a stroke by ethnicity interaction was observed (P=0.01). Models stratified by ethnicity revealed that stroke was associated with cognitive impairment across ethnicities, but had greater impact on cognition in non-Hispanic Whites (cumulative odds ratio=3.81 [95% CI, 2.37-6.12]) than in MAs (cumulative odds ratio=1.58 [95% CI, 1.04-2.41]). Increased age and lower educational attainment were also associated with cognitive impairment, regardless of ethnicity.ConclusionsHistory of stroke was associated with increased odds of cognitive impairment after controlling for other factors in both MA and Non-Hispanic White participants. The magnitude of the impact of stroke on cognition was less in MA than in Non-Hispanic White participants.

Dataset Information

Childhood Misfortune and Handgrip Strength Among Black, White, and Hispanic Americans.

Objective

Method

Results

Discussion

Publications

Childhood Misfortune and Handgrip Strength Among Black, White, and Hispanic Americans.

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