PUBLIC CARE DURING CHILDHOOD AND BIOMEDICAL RISK FACTORS IN MIDDLE AGE: THE 1970 BRITISH COHORT STUDY.
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SUBMITTER: Batty GD
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7784524 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:OBJECTIVE:With there being an apparent impact of experience of out-of-home care in childhood on chronic disease and mortality, we examined how such adversity might be embodied such that it has a measurable impact on human biology, so mediating this relationship. METHODS:We used data from the UK National Child Development Study in which exposure to public care was prospectively gathered on three occasions up to age 16. Study members also participated in a social survey at age 42 and a clinical examination at age 44/45 when cardiovascular, inflammatory, neuroendocrine, and respiratory risk markers for mortality were collected, 19 of which were included as endpoints in the present analyses. RESULTS:Of the 8012 participants in the biomedical survey, 4% (n = 322) had been in care at some point in childhood and/or adolescence. We found the expected marked differences in the early life characteristics of poverty, health, and disability in children with experience of public care relative to their unexposed counterparts. After controlling for these confounding factors, however, care in childhood was essentially unrelated to biomarkers in middle-age. We also found no consistent links between these biomarkers and the duration, timing, or type of care. CONCLUSIONS:Our results suggest that the biomarkers captured in the present study are unlikely to mediate the link between public care in childhood and later chronic disease or mortality. Processes involving mental health, socioeconomic position, and health behaviors would seem to be a potential alternative pathway warranting investigation.
| S-EPMC7317568 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background and objectives:Jobs for life have become increasingly rare in industrialized economies, and have been replaced by shorter-term employment contracts and freelancing. This labour market change is likely to be accompanied by physiological changes in individuals who have experienced little job stability. Evolved responses to increased environmental instability or stochasticity include increased fat deposition and fight-or-flight responses, such as glucose mobilization and increased blood pressure. These responses may have evolved by natural selection as beneficial to individuals in the short-term, but are damaging in the longer term. Methodology:This study tested whether job losses experienced between ages 30 and 42 are associated with increased body weight, hypertension and diabetes diagnosis in the 1970 British Birth Cohort, which consists of all registered births in a one-week period in April 1970. Results:Each job loss experienced increased the odds of developing diabetes by 1.39 times (CI 1.08-1.80), and of hypertension by 1.28 times (CI 1.07-1.53). Another economic variable, higher personal debt, was associated with all three of these health outcomes: every £100 000 of debt roughly doubled the odds of gaining at least 5 kg between ages 30 and 42. Conclusions and implications:These associations between job loss and health-risk factors suggest that our changing economy results in increases in the prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease. At a broader level, they are consistent with evolutionary understandings of environmental stochasticity, and are a reminder that economic policy is also health policy.
| S-EPMC5906902 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAssociations of cardiorespiratory fitness in childhood and adulthood with adult cardiometabolic risk factors are poorly understood, not least because of the paucity of studies.ObjectivesWe investigated associations between nonexercise testing cardiorespiratory fitness (NETCRF) in childhood/adulthood and cardiometabolic risk factors in adulthood.MethodsBased on an established algorithm comprising gender, age, body mass index, resting heart rate, and self-reported physical activity at age 10, we computed NETCRF. Risk factors were assessed at age 46 in 5009 participants when NETCRF was again calculated. Linear regression was used to summarize associations between NETCRF in childhood and risk factors in adulthood and, additionally, the relationship between NETCRF in adulthood and risk factors in adulthood after adjusting for childhood NETCRF.ResultsInconsistent associations were observed between childhood NETCRF and adult risk factors. NETCRF in adulthood was associated with blood pressure [-5.8 (-6.7, -4.9)], glycated hemoglobin [-3.41 (-4.06, -2.76)], total cholesterol [-0.16 (-0.24, -0.08)], HDL cholesterol [0.19 (0.16, 0.22)], triglycerides [-0.68 (-0.85, -0.50)], and C-reactive protein [-0.29 (-0.35, -0.22)] in adult males. Similar associations were observed in adult females. Compared to those with low estimated fitness in both childhood and adulthood, participants with low fitness in childhood and high fitness in adulthood had a lower risk of two or more cardiometabolic risk factors (odds ratio: 0.25; 95% confidence interval: 0.19, 0.31).ConclusionAssociations between estimated fitness and risk factors are stronger in adulthood than from childhood to adulthood. Adults with previously sedentary childhoods may still gain benefits from improving their fitness.
| S-EPMC7187251 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundMuscle weakness is a key criterion for important age-related conditions, including sarcopenia and frailty. Research suggests lower childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) may be associated with muscle weakness in later life but there is little evidence on associations in younger adults closer to peak muscle strength. We aimed to examine relationships between indicators of SEP in childhood and adulthood and grip strength at age 46y.MethodsWe examined 7,617 participants from the 1970 British Cohort Study with grip strength measurements at 46y. We used sex-specific linear regression models to test associations between five different indicators of SEP in childhood and adulthood (paternal occupational class and parental education levels at age 5 and own occupational class and education level at age 46) and maximum grip strength. Models were adjusted for birth weight, BMI in childhood and adulthood, adult height, disability in childhood, leisure-time physical activity in childhood and adulthood, sedentary behaviour in childhood and adulthood, occupational activity and smoking at age 46.ResultsAmong women, lower SEP in childhood and adulthood was associated with weaker grip strength even after adjustments for covariates. For example, in fully-adjusted models, women whose mothers had no qualifications at age five had mean grip strength 0.99 kg (95% CI: -1.65, -0.33) lower than women whose mothers were educated to degree and higher. Among men, lower levels of father's education and both adult SEP indicators were associated with stronger grip. The association between own occupational class and grip strength deviated from linearity; men in skilled-manual occupations (i.e. the middle occupational group) had stronger grip than men in the highest occupational group (Difference in means: 1.33 kg (0.60, 2.06)) whereas there was no difference in grip strength between the highest and lowest occupational groups. Adjustment for occupational activity largely attenuated these associations.ConclusionFindings highlight the need to identify age and sex-specific interventions across life to tackle inequalities in important age-related conditions related to weakness.
| S-EPMC9327373 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAttending private school or a higher-status university is thought to benefit future earnings and occupational opportunities. We examined whether these measures were beneficially related to health and selected health-related behaviours in midlife.MethodsData were from up to 9799 participants from the 1970 British birth Cohort Study. The high school attended (private, grammar or state) was ascertained at 16 years, and the university attended reported at 42 years [categorised as either higher (Russell Group) or normal-status institutions]. Self-reported health, limiting illness and body mass index (BMI) were reported at 42 years, along with television viewing, take-away meal consumption, physical inactivity, smoking and high risk alcohol drinking. Associations were examined using multiple regression models, adjusted for gender and childhood socioeconomic, health and cognitive measures.ResultsPrivate school and higher status university attendance were associated with favourable self-rated health and lower BMI, and beneficially associated with health-related-behaviours. For example, private school attendance was associated with 0.56 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.48, 0.65] odds of lower self-rated health [odds ratio (OR) for higher-status university: 0.32 (0.27, 0.37)]. Associations were largely attenuated by adjustment for potential confounders, except for those of private schooling and higher-status university attendance with lower BMI and television viewing, and less frequent take-away meal consumption.ConclusionsPrivate school and higher-status university attendance were related to better self-rated health, lower BMI and multiple favourable health behaviours in midlife. Findings suggest that type or status of education may be an important under-researched construct to consider when documenting and understanding socioeconomic inequalities in health.
| S-EPMC5407151 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundNeighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage has been linked to increased diabetes risk, but little is known about differences in risk factors in childhood and adulthood in those with high and low neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage, or about the association between long-term neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage and incidence of diabetes in adulthood. We used data from the prospective, population-based Young Finns Study to address these questions.MethodsWe did a nationwide population-based cohort study in Finland using data from The Young Finns Study, which included 3467 participants aged 6-18 years followed up for over 30 years via eight repeated biomedical examinations and linkage to electronic health records. Participants were also linked to national grid data on neighbourhood disadvantage via their residential address from age 6-48 years. We used these data to examine differences in ten risk factors (dietary habits, physical activity, daily smoking, body-mass index, systolic blood pressure, fasting HDL cholesterol, fasting triglycerides, fasting plasma glucose, fasting serum insulin, and homoeostasis model assessment insulin sensitivity) from childhood (6-21 years) to adulthood (22-48 years) among individuals with high (>0·5 SD above the national mean) and low (≥0·5 SD below the national mean) neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage, and the association of cumulative neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage with six cardiometabolic risk factors (obesity, high waist circumference, fatty liver, hypertension, carotid plaque, and left ventricle mass index) and diabetes by middle age (22-48 years). We used logistic and linear regression analyses to assess the effects of neighbourhood disadvantage on cardiometabolic and diabetes risk, controlling for potential confounders (age, sex, and individual socioeconomic disadvantage).FindingsWe included data for 3002 individuals with risk factor assessment in childhood and adulthood. Of whom, 2048 underwent a clinical examination during the last follow-up at age 33-48 years. Differences in risk factors by neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage at the beginning of follow-up were small, but large differences emerged over the follow-up. High neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage was characterised by decreased fruit and vegetable intake as early as age 6 years, decreased physical activity, and increased prevalence of daily smoking from adolescence (12 years) onwards, and decreased homoeostasis model assessment insulin sensitivity and increased fasting glucose and insulin concentration from early adulthood (27 years; all p<0·03). Individuals consistently exposed to high neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage were more likely to be obese (odds ratio [OR] 1·44, 95% CI 1·01-2·06), hypertensive (1·83, 1·14-2·93), have a fatty liver (1·73, 1·11-2·71), and diabetes (3·71, 1·77-7·75), compared with those who were consistently exposed to low neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage.InterpretationLiving in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas can shape health in childhood and adulthood. Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with differences in health risks across the life course, including detrimental lifestyle factors from childhood and adolescence onwards and worse glucose metabolism from early adulthood. By middle age, cumulative neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with increased cardiometabolic risk factors and increased incidence of diabetes.FundingAcademy of Finland, NordForsk, UK Medical Research Council, European Commission, and European Research Council.
| S-EPMC6079015 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundWe sought to: [1] estimate the prevalence of multimorbidity at age 46-48 in the 1970 British Cohort Study-a nationally representative sample in mid-life; and [2] examine the association between early-life characteristics and mid-life multimorbidity.MethodA prospective longitudinal birth cohort of a community-based sample from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). Participants included all surviving children born in mainland Britain in a single week in April 1970; the analytical sample included those with valid data at age 46-48 (n = 7951; 2016-2018). The main outcome was multimorbidity, which was operationalised as a binary indicator of two or more long-term health conditions where at least one of these conditions was of physical health. It also included symptom complexes (e.g., chronic pain), sensory impairments, and alcohol problems.ResultsPrevalence of mid-life multimorbidity was 33.8% at age 46-48. Those with fathers from unskilled social occupational class (vs professional) at birth had 43% higher risk of mid-life multimorbidity (risk ratio = 1.43, 95% confidence interval 1.15 to 1.77). After accounting for potential child and family confounding, an additional kilogram of birthweight was associated with 10% reduced risk of multimorbidity (risk ratio = 0.90, 95% confidence interval 0.84 to 0.96); a decrease of one body mass index point at age 10 was associated with 3% lower risk (risk ratio = 1.03, 95% confidence interval 1.01 to 1.05); one standard deviation higher cognitive ability score at age 10 corresponded to 4% lower risk (risk ratio = 0.96, 95% confidence interval 0.91 to 1.00); an increase of one internalising problem at age 16 was equated with 4% higher risk (risk ratio = 1.04, 95% confidence interval 1.00 to 1.08) and of one externalising problem at age 16 with 6% higher risk (risk ratio = 1.06, 1.03 to 1.09).ConclusionPrevalence of multimorbidity was high in mid-life (33.8% at age 46-48) in Britain. Potentially modifiable early-life exposures, including early-life social circumstances, cognitive, physical and emotional development, were associated with elevated risk of mid-life multimorbidity.
| S-EPMC8317357 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundComplex bidirectional relationships have been described between body weight, thyroid function, and risk of thyroid disorders, including thyroid autoimmunity. We used a life-course approach to examine the potential association of childhood or adult body weight with the risk of thyroid autoimmunity and other thyroid disorders at age 60-64 years in a large population-based birth cohort study.MethodsIn the UK Medical Research Council 1946 British Birth Cohort study, at age 60-64 years, 1277 women and 1185 men (78% of the target sample) responded to a postal questionnaire, which included questions on thyroid disease and thyroid medication. Circulating antithyroid peroxidase antibodies, free T4, and TSH concentrations were measured in 1057 women and 997 men at a subsequent clinic visit. Birth weight was recorded, and height and weight were measured at ages 2, 4, 6, 7, 11, 15 years and also repeatedly in adulthood.ResultsAt age 60-64 years, 10.9% of women (139 of 1277) and 2.3% of men (27 of 1185) reported they were taking T4, and 11.5% of women (122 of 1057) and 3.3% of men (33 of 997) had positive anti-TPO antibodies (>100 IU/mL), consistent with thyroid autoimmunity. Among women, both T4 use and positive anti-TPO antibodies at age 60-64 years were positively associated with childhood body weight, childhood overweight, and adult body mass index. Childhood weight gain between 0 and 14 years of age was positively associated with later T4 use (odds ratio 1.21, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.42) and positive anti-TPO antibodies (1.21, 1.00-1.47). Women who were overweight or obese at age 14 years (127 of 972) had a higher risk of later positive anti-TPO antibodies (2.05, 1.12-3.76). In men and women without any thyroid disorders, serum free T4 concentrations were inversely associated with concurrent body mass index (P = .002).ConclusionsChildhood weight gain and childhood overweight conferred an increased susceptibility to later hypothyroidism and thyroid autoimmunity, particularly in women.
| S-EPMC3651609 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundHigh left ventricular mass (LVM) is an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease and mortality, but information relating LVM in older age to growth in early life is limited. We assessed the relationship of birthweight, height and body mass index (BMI) and overweight across childhood and adolescence with later life left ventricular (LV) structure.MethodsWe used data from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD) on men and women born in 1946 in Britain and followed up ever since. We use regression models to relate prospective measures of birthweight and height and BMI from ages 2-20 years to LV structure at 60-64 years.ResultsPositive associations of birthweight with LVM and LV end diastolic volume (LVEDV) at 60-64 years were largely explained by adult height. Higher BMI, greater changes in BMI and greater accumulation of overweight across childhood and adolescence were associated with higher LVM and LVEDV and odds of concentric hypertrophy. Those who were overweight at two ages in early life had a mean LVM 11.5 g (95% confidence interval: -2.19,24.87) greater, and a mean LVEDV 10.0 ml (3.7,16.2) greater, than those who were not overweight. Associations were at least partially mediated through adult body mass index. Body size was less consistently associated with relative wall thickness (RWT), with the strongest association being observed with pubertal BMI change [0.007 (0.001,0.013) per standard deviation change in BMI 7-15 years]. The relationships between taller childhood height and LVM and LVEDV were explained by adult height.ConclusionsGiven the increasing levels of overweight in contemporary cohorts of children, these findings further emphasize the need for effective interventions to prevent childhood overweight.
| S-EPMC5841632 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Previous studies testing the hypothesis that symptoms of anxiety and depression increase blood pressure (BP) levels show inconsistent and limited findings. We examined the association between those symptoms across adult life and BP in late middle age.Using data from 1683 participants from the MRC NSHD, we investigated associations between affective symptoms at ages 36, 43, 53 and 60-64 years and SBP and DBP at age 60-64. Multivariable linear regression was used to examine the effect on BP of affective symptoms at each age separately and as a categorical cumulative score based on the number of times an individual was classified as a 'case'. Models were adjusted for sex, BMI, educational attainment, socio-economic position, heart rate, lifestyle factors and antihypertensive treatment.In fully adjusted models, we observed lower SBP in study members with case-level symptoms at one to two time-points [-1.83?mmHg; 95% confidence interval (CI) -3.74 to 0.01] and at three to four time-points (-3.93?mmHg; 95% CI -7.19 to -0.68) compared with those never meeting case criteria suggesting a cumulative inverse impact of affective symptoms on SBP across adulthood (P value for trend 0.022). Sex and BMI had a large impact on the estimates while not other confounders. Potential mediators such as heart rate and lifestyle behaviours had a little impact on the association. SBP at age 36 and behavioural changes across adulthood, as additional covariates, had a little impact on the association. A similar but weaker trend was observed for DBP.A cumulative effect of symptoms of anxiety and depression across adulthood results in lower SBP in late middle age that is not explained by lifestyle factors and antihypertensive treatment. Mechanisms by which mood may impact BP should be investigated.
| S-EPMC4166011 | biostudies-literature