Life-Course Circumstances and Frailty in Old Age Within Different European Welfare Regimes: A Longitudinal Study With SHARE

Bernadette Wilhelmina, Antonia Van Der Linden, Stefan SieberMA, Boris Cheval, Dan OrsholitsMA, Idris Guessous, Rainer Gabriel, Martina Von ArxMA, Michelle Kelly-Irving, Marja Aartsen, David Blane, Matthieu P Boisgontier, Delphine Courvoisier, Michel Oris, Matthias Kliegel, Stéphane Cullati and Jessica Kelley

The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2020, vol. 75, issue 6, 1326-1335

Abstract: ObjectivesThis study aimed to assess whether cumulative disadvantage in childhood misfortune and adult-life socioeconomic conditions influence the risk of frailty in old age and whether welfare regimes influence these associations.MethodData from 23,358 participants aged 50 years and older included in the longitudinal SHARE survey were used. Frailty was operationalized according to Fried’s phenotype as presenting either weakness, shrinking, exhaustion, slowness, or low activity. Confounder-adjusted mixed-effects logistic regression models were used to analyze associations of childhood misfortune and life-course socioeconomic conditions with frailty.ResultsChildhood misfortune and poor adult-life socioeconomic conditions increased the odds of (pre-)frailty at older age. With aging, differences narrowed between categories of adverse childhood experiences (driven by Scandinavian welfare regime) and adverse childhood health experiences (driven by Eastern European welfare regime), but increased between categories of occupational position (driven by Bismarckian welfare regime).DiscussionThese findings suggest that childhood misfortune is linked to frailty in old age. Such a disadvantaged start in life does not seem to be compensated by a person’s life-course socioeconomic trajectory, though certain types of welfare regimes affected this relationship. Apart from main occupational position, our findings do not support the cumulative dis/advantage theory, but rather show narrowing differences.

Keywords: Childhood disadvantage; Health outcomes; Socioeconomic status; Successful aging (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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The Journals of Gerontology: Series B is currently edited by Psychological Sciences - S. Duke Han, PhD and Social Sciences - Jessica A Kelley, PhD, FGSA

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