Childhood predictors of late‐life diabetes: The case of Mexico

Diabetes, life course and childhood socioeconomic conditions: an empirical assessment for Mexico

BACKGROUND

Demographic and epidemiological dynamics characterized by lower fertility rates and longer life expectancy, as well as higher prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, represent important challenges for policy makers around the World. We investigate the risk factors that influence the diagnosis of diabetes in the Mexican population aged 50 years and over, including childhood poverty.

RESULTS

This work employs a probabilistic regression model with information from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) of 2012 and 2018. Our results are consistent with the existing literature and should raise strong concerns. The findings suggest that risk factors that favor the diagnosis of diabetes in adulthood are: age, family antecedents of diabetes, obesity, and socioeconomic conditions during both adulthood and childhood.

CONCLUSIONS

Poverty conditions before the age 10, with inter-temporal poverty implications, are associated with a higher probability of being diagnosed with diabetes when older and pose extraordinary policy challenges.

Food Insecurity across the Life-Course and Cognitive Function among Older Mexican Adults

BACKGROUND

Food insecurity remains a global public health problem. Experiencing food insecurity is related to poorer cognitive function among older adults. However, few studies have examined how food insecurity, experienced over the life-course, relates to cognitive function among older adults in Mexico.

METHODS

Data came from the 2015 Mexican Health and Aging Study (n = 11,507 adults aged 50 and over). Early- and late-life food insecurity were ascertained by self-report. We evaluated how both measures of food insecurity related to the performance of multiple cognitive tasks (Verbal Learning, Verbal Recall, Visual Scanning, and Verbal Fluency), while controlling for key health and sociodemographic confounders using linear regression.

RESULTS

In descriptive analyses, respondents who experienced food insecurity in either early or late life performed significantly worse on all cognitive tasks when compared to the food secure. In models adjusted for health and sociodemographic confounders, early-life food insecurity predicted worse Verbal Learning performance and late-life food insecurity was associated with poorer Visual Scanning performance.

CONCLUSIONS

Food insecurity was related to poorer cognitive function in a nationally representative sample of older adults in Mexico. However, results suggested that the significance of effects depended on cognitive task and when in the life-course food insecurity was experienced.

Childhood Socioeconomic Position and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Adulthood: Systematic Review of Evidence From Low- and Middle-Income Countries

INTRODUCTION

Socioeconomic disadvantage in childhood is strongly associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease in high-income countries. However, the association in low- and middle-income countries, where childhood poverty remains prevalent, has not been reviewed.

METHODS

The authors systematically searched Embase, MEDLINE, and Global Health databases for articles on the association between childhood socioeconomic position and risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood in low- and middle-income countries until September 2020. Outcomes included measures of cardiovascular disease, its subclinical markers (e.g., carotid intima-media thickness), and its major risk factors (e.g., hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes). Where available, associations were extracted before and after adjustment for socioeconomic position in adulthood. Results were synthesized qualitatively by outcome. The study protocol is registered on PROSPERO (CRD42018086984).

RESULTS

The search returned 3,568 unique abstracts, from which 29 eligible articles from 14 middle-income countries were identified, representing >150,000 participants. The most commonly reported outcomes were cardiovascular risk factors; very few studies reported prevalent measures of cardiovascular disease, and no studies reported cardiovascular disease incidence or mortality. Of the 46 reported associations between childhood socioeconomic position and risk of cardiovascular disease, 8 were inverse, 0 were positive, and 38 showed no clear evidence of association. All articles had high (16/29) or medium (13/29) risk of bias.

CONCLUSIONS

Current evidence from middle-income countries provides little support for an association between childhood socioeconomic position and risk of cardiovascular disease, and evidence from low-income countries is lacking. It would be premature to consider childhood poverty as a target for cardiovascular disease prevention in these settings.

Life-course pathways from childhood socioeconomic status to type 2 diabetes in mid-late Chinese adulthood

The relationship between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains inconclusive, and the pathways and mechanisms driving this relationship have yet to be clarified. This study aimed to examine the pathways linking childhood SES to T2D prevalence in mid-late adulthood in a low- and middle-income country. The incidence of T2D diagnosed in mid-late Chinese adulthood was assessed using self-reports from the Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Childhood SES was assessed by the education, occupation, survivorship of the parents and the financial situation of the family, whereas adulthood SES was assessed by education and wage. This study performed structural equation modeling to clarify the direct and indirect pathways from childhood SES to T2D via childhood health, childhood food shortage, adulthood SES and physical activity. A total of 15,132 participants were included, and the prevalence of T2D was 5.24%. This study found that childhood SES was directly associated with T2D in mid-late adulthood, the probability of developing T2D increased by 9.20% of the standard deviation for each decrease in standard deviation in childhood SES. Childhood SES was indirectly associated with T2D via adulthood SES, physical activity, childhood health and food shortage. Adulthood SES and physical activity mainly mediated the indirect pathway from childhood SES and T2D. This study showed direct and indirect pathways from disadvantaged childhood SES to increased risk of T2D in mid-late Chinese adulthood. Childhood SES, adulthood SES, physical activity, childhood health and food shortage were identified as life-course interventional targets that should be considered in the development of effective strategies to reduce the burden of T2D and SES-related health inequities in childhood.

Impact of social disadvantages in the presence of diabetes at old age

Background

Social disadvantages that start during childhood and continue into the later stages in life may be linked to the presence of diabetes during adulthood. Objective. To analyze whether the presence of social disadvantages in childhood and in the present affects the presence of diabetes in older adults.

Methods

The present study was based on longitudinal data from the third and fourth Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) waves (2012 and 2015). Data on diabetes diagnosis, past (e.g. “no shoes during childhood”) and present (e.g. self-perception of economic status) social disparities, and other covariables were analyzed.

Results

From 8,848 older adults, 21.5% (n = 1903) were classified as prevalent cases (PG), 5.2% (n = 459) as incident cases (IG) and 77.4% (n = 6,486) were free of disease (NDG). The predictor variable “no shoes during childhood” was statistically significant in the model incident versus no diabetes group. Hypertension and body mass index (BMI) were the most relevant covariates as they were statistically significant in the three groups (PG, IG and NDG).

Conclusions

Not having shoes during childhood, an indicator of social disadvantages, is associated with the incidence and prevalence of diabetes in older adults. This suggests that social disadvantages can be a determinant for the presence of chronic diseases in adulthood.

The Role of Hopelessness in the Health of Low-Class Rural Chinese Residents

It is well known that health inequality has been happening between rural and urban Chinese populations, however, the health differences among rural Chinese residents remain unclear. This study aims to assess the physical and mental health of rural Chinese residents in different social classes, and then to examine the mediating role of hopelessness between social class and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). A stratified multi-stage sampling was used to recruit 2003 rural residents responding to the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12). The results showed that lower-class rural Chinese residents reported lower physical and mental health as well as a higher level of hopelessness. Furthermore, hopelessness could fully mediate the association between social class and physical and mental health. These findings will generate significant implications for identifying those at particular risk for lower quality of life and designing social work intervention programs in rural China's context.

Cohort Profile: The Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS)

The Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) was designed to prospectively evaluate the impact of disease on the health, function and mortality of adults over the age of 50 in both urban and rural areas of Mexico. The overall goal of the study is to examine the ageing process and its disease and disability burden in a large representative panel of older Mexicans, using a wide socioeconomic perspective. The study protocols and survey instruments are highly comparable to the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS).The MHAS 2001 baseline is a nationally and urban-rural representative survey of individuals born in 1951 or earlier. Three waves of data have been collected so far: baseline in 2001 and follow-ups in 2003 and 2012. In 2012, the study added a representative sample of the population from the 1952-62 birth cohorts. A fourth wave will be collected in 2015.The data files and documentation are available free of charge at the study website [www.MHASweb.org] in English and [www.ENASEM.org] in Spanish.

Early-Life Environmental Exposures and Height, Hypertension, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Older Adults in India

Environmental exposures like rainfall and temperature influence infectious disease exposure and nutrition, two key early-life conditions linked to later-life health. However, few tests of whether early-life environmental exposures impact adult health have been performed, particularly in developing countries. This study examines the effects of experiencing rainfall and temperature shocks during gestation and up through the first four years after birth on measured height, hypertension, and other cardiovascular risk factors using data on adults aged 50 and above (N = 1,036) from the 2007-2008 World Health Organization Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) and district-level meteorological data from India. Results from multivariate logistic regressions show that negative rainfall shocks during gestation and positive rainfall shocks during the postbirth period increase the risk of having adult hypertension and CVD risk factors. Exposure to negative rainfall shocks and positive temperature shocks in the postbirth period increases the likelihood of falling within the lowest height decile. Prenatal shocks may influence nutrition in utero, while postnatal shocks may increase exposure to infectious diseases and malnutrition. The results suggest that gestation and the first two years after birth are critical periods when rainfall and temperature shocks take on increased importance for adult health.

Childhood socioeconomic disadvantage and prediabetes and diabetes in later life: a study of biopsychosocial pathways

OBJECTIVE

We examined the relationship between childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and glucoregulation in later life and used a life-course framework to examine critical periods and underlying pathways.

METHODS

Data came from the Midlife in the US (MIDUS) national study (n = 895). Childhood SES indicators retrospectively reported at MIDUS I were used to create a childhood SES disadvantage index. Adult SES disadvantage and potential pathways were measured at MIDUS I and included waist circumference, depressive symptoms, and physical activity. Glucose and hemoglobin A1c, measured approximately 9 to 10 years later at MIDUS II, were used to create the ordinal outcome measure (no diabetes/prediabetes/diabetes).

RESULTS

Childhood SES disadvantage predicted increased odds of prediabetes and diabetes net of age, sex, race, and smoking (odds ratio = 1.11, 95% confidence interval = 1.01-1.22). Childhood SES disadvantage predicted adult SES disadvantage (β = .26, p = .001) and the three key mediators: waist circumference (β = 0.10, p = .002), physical activity (β = -0.11, p = .001), and depressive symptoms (β = 0.07, p = .072). When childhood and adult SES disadvantage were in the same model, only adult SES predicted glucoregulation (odds ratio = 1.07, 95% confidence interval = 1.01-1.13). The SES disadvantage measures were no longer significantly associated with glucoregulation after including waist circumference, physical activity, and depressive symptoms, all of which were significant predictors of glucoregulation.

CONCLUSIONS

The consequences of childhood SES disadvantage are complex and include both critical period and pathway effects. The lack of a direct effect of childhood SES on glucoregulation does not negate the importance of early environment but suggests that early-life socioeconomic factors propel unequal life-course trajectories that ultimately influence health.

The role of childhood social position in adult type 2 diabetes: evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

BACKGROUND

Socioeconomic circumstances in childhood and early adulthood may influence the later onset of chronic disease, although such research is limited for type 2 diabetes and its risk factors at the different stages of life. The main aim of the present study is to examine the role of childhood social position and later inflammatory markers and health behaviours in developing type 2 diabetes at older ages using a pathway analytic approach.

METHODS

Data on childhood and adult life circumstances of 2,994 men and 4,021 women from English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) were used to evaluate their association with diabetes at age 50 years and more. The cases of diabetes were based on having increased blood levels of glycated haemoglobin and/or self-reported medication for diabetes and/or being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Father's job when ELSA participants were aged 14 years was used as the measure of childhood social position. Current social characteristics, health behaviours and inflammatory biomarkers were used as potential mediators in the statistical analysis to assess direct and indirect effects of childhood circumstances on diabetes in later life.

RESULTS

12.6 per cent of participants were classified as having diabetes. A disadvantaged social position in childhood, as measured by father's manual occupation, was associated at conventional levels of statistical significance with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in adulthood, both directly and indirectly through inflammation, adulthood social position and a risk score constructed from adult health behaviours including tobacco smoking and limited physical activity. The direct effect of childhood social position was reduced by mediation analysis (standardised coefficient decreased from 0.089 to 0.043) but remained statistically significant (p= 0.035). All three indirect pathways made a statistically significantly contribution to the overall effect of childhood social position on adulthood type 2 diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS

Childhood social position influences adult diabetes directly and indirectly through inflammatory markers, adulthood social position and adult health behaviours.

Childhood poverty and depressive symptoms for older adults in Mexico: a life-course analysis

This study applies life-course theories of latent (direct), pathway (indirect) and conditional effects in an analysis of childhood poverty on later-life depressive symptoms among older adults in Mexico. Data are from the 2001 Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS), a nationally representative sample of older adults born before 1951 (n = 8696). Respondents had a mean of 3.6 past-week depressive symptoms and 71% had no household sanitation facilities before age 10; this measure served as a proxy for childhood poverty. Childhood poverty is significantly related to scores on an adapted 9-item CES-D scale in the full model (b = 0.27, p < 0.001). This effect is partially mediated by four adult socio-economic status measures, although decomposition analysis reveals the mediation effect to be primarily driven by educational achievement. These findings have important implications for Mexico's rapidly aging population as well as efforts for childhood poverty reduction and gains in education.

Early-life conditions and older adult health in low- and middle-income countries: a review

Population aging and subsequent projected large increases in chronic conditions will be important health concerns in low- and middle-income countries. Although evidence is accumulating, little is known regarding the impact of poor early-life conditions on older adult (50 years and older) health in these settings. A systematic review of 1141 empirical studies was conducted to identify population-based and community studies in low- and middle-income countries, which examined associations between early-life conditions and older adult health. The resulting review of 20 studies revealed strong associations between (1) in utero/early infancy exposures (independent of other early life and adult conditions) and adult heart disease and diabetes; (2) poor nutrition during childhood and difficulties in adult cognition and diabetes; (3) specific childhood illnesses such as rheumatic fever and malaria and adult heart disease and mortality; (4) poor childhood health and adult functionality/disability and chronic diseases; (5) poor childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and adult mortality, functionality/disability and cognition; and (6) parental survival during childhood and adult functionality/disability and cognition. In several instances, associations remained strong even after controlling for adult SES and lifestyle. Although exact mechanisms cannot be identified, these studies reinforce to some extent the importance of early-life environment on health at older ages. Given the paucity of cohort data from the developing world to examine hypotheses of early-life conditions and older adult health, population-based studies are relevant in providing a broad perspective on the origins of adult health.

Concordance of sibling's recall of measures of childhood socioeconomic position

Background

Studies of socioeconomic determinants of health often rely on recalled information on childhood socioeconomic position, despite limited evidence of the validity of this information. This study examined concordance between siblings of recalled measures of childhood socioeconomic position.

Methods

This cross-sectional study examined reports by 1280 adult sibling pairs in the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States of seven measures of childhood socioeconomic position: father's occupation (in 9 categories), father having a professional occupation, father being a supervisor at work, father's education level, mother's education level, receipt of welfare payments, and subjective appraisal of being better or worse off financially than others.

Results

Concordance was high for father's professional occupation (0.97; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.96, 0.98), father's occupation in 9 categories (0.76; 95% CI 0.73, 0.80), and receipt of welfare payments (0.95; 95% CI 0.93, 0.97). Concordance was lower for father's and mother's education level, and lowest for subjective appraisal of socioeconomic position (0.60; 95% CI 0.57, 0.64). Concordance of parental education was lower for sibling pairs with high school educations or less.

Conclusion

Concordance of recalled measures of childhood socioeconomic position by siblings is generally but not uniformly high.

Links between childhood and adult social circumstances and obesity and hypertension in the Mexican population

OBJECTIVES

This study examines links between early life circumstances and adult socioeconomic status and obesity and hypertension in the adult Mexican population.

METHOD

We use data from the Mexican Family Life Survey (MxFLS) collected in 2002 for people aged 20 or older (N = 14,280).

RESULTS

We found that men with low education and women with more education have significantly lower obesity. Women with higher education also have significantly less hypertension. Obesity triples the likelihood of hypertension among both men and women. Better childhood experiences are associated with less hypertension among women, but more hypertension among men in rural areas.

DISCUSSION

Recent changes in income, nutrition, and infection in Mexico may be responsible for the observed high prevalence of overweight and obesity and the extremely high odds of hypertension among obese young adults.

Intergenerational influences on diabetes in a developing population: the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study

OBJECTIVES

Intergenerational "mismatch" and/or growth conditions may be relevant to the epidemic of diabetes in developing populations. In a rapidly developing southern Chinese population, we tested whether maternal environment, proxied by maternal literacy, or family socio-economic position (SEP), proxied by paternal literacy, were associated with fasting glucose and diabetes. To assess if intergenerational mismatch contributed, we tested whether the associations varied by life course SEP.

METHODS

In 19,818 older (≥50 years) adults from the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study (phases 2 and 3), we used censored and logistic regression to assess the associations of maternal and paternal literacy with fasting glucose, elevated fasting glucose and diabetes and whether these associations varied by sex, age or life course SEP.

RESULTS

Maternal, but not paternal, literacy was negatively associated with fasting plasma glucose (β-coefficient -0.06 mmol/l, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.11 to -0.01) and elevated fasting glucose (odds ratio (OR) 0.92, 95% CI 0.86-0.99) adjusted for age, sex, study phase, life course SEP, childhood growth, adiposity, number of offspring, and birth order. Associations of maternal and paternal literacy with fasting glucose, elevated fasting glucose and diabetes did not vary by sex, age or life course SEP.

CONCLUSION

Offspring of literate mothers had lower risk for impaired glucose tolerance than offspring of illiterate mothers. Being raised by literate mothers may increase the likelihood of children with higher SEP and lower long-term disease risk, or better maternal conditions over generations may be associated with lower fasting glucose.

Do early-life conditions predict functional health status in adulthood? The case of Mexico

Relatively few researchers have investigated early antecedents of adult functional limitations in developing countries. In this study, we assessed associations between childhood conditions and adult lower-body functional limitations (LBFL) as well as the potential mediating role of adult socioeconomic status, smoking, body mass index, and chronic diseases or symptoms. Based on data from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) of individuals born prior to 1951 and contacted in 2001 and 2003, we found that childhood nutritional deprivation, serious health problems, and family background predict adult LBFL in Mexico. Adjustment for the potential mediators in adulthood attenuates these associations only to a modest degree.

Childhood Morbidity and Health in Early Adulthood: Life course linkages in a high morbidity context

This paper examines whether morbidity in early and later childhood is associated with health later in life. I investigate the relationship between five types of childhood morbidity and risk factors for cardiovascular disease among Guatemalan adults who experienced high levels of morbidity in childhood. The analysis is based on the Human Capital Study (2002-2004), a recent follow-up of the INCAP Longitudinal Study conducted between 1969 and 1977. I find that most types of childhood morbidity are associated with poorer adult health, independent of family background, adult socioeconomic status, and health behaviors. Higher levels of infections in childhood were associated with a low level of high density lipoprotein (HDL), and higher level of triglycerides, plasma glucose, waist circumference, and obesity (but not hypertension). These results are consistent with the literature that finds that childhood morbidity is associated with increased morbidity and mortality at older ages. However, diarrheal disease in later childhood was associated with lower levels of some risk factors, as measured by triglycerides and plasma glucose, suggesting that exposure to bacteria after infancy may be beneficial for some measures of adult health.

Impact of early psychosocial factors (childhood socioeconomic factors and adversities) on future risk of type 2 diabetes, metabolic disturbances and obesity: a systematic review

Background

Psychological factors and socioeconomic status (SES) have a notable impact on health disparities, including type 2 diabetes risk. However, the link between childhood psychosocial factors, such as childhood adversities or parental SES, and metabolic disturbances is less well established. In addition, the lifetime perspective including adult socioeconomic factors remains of further interest.

We carried out a systematic review with the main question if there is evidence in population- or community-based studies that childhood adversities (like neglect, traumata and deprivation) have considerable impact on type 2 diabetes incidence and other metabolic disturbances. Also, parental SES was included in the search as risk factor for both, diabetes and adverse childhood experiences. Finally, we assumed that obesity might be a mediator for the association of childhood adversities with diabetes incidence. Therefore, we carried out a second review on obesity, applying a similar search strategy.

Methods

Two systematic reviews were carried out. Longitudinal, population- or community-based studies were included if they contained data on psychosocial factors in childhood and either diabetes incidence or obesity risk.

Results

We included ten studies comprising a total of 200,381 individuals. Eight out of ten studies indicated that low parental status was associated with type 2 diabetes incidence or the development of metabolic abnormalities. Adjustment for adult SES and obesity tended to attenuate the childhood SES-attributable risk but the association remained. For obesity, eleven studies were included with a total sample size of 70,420 participants. Four out of eleven studies observed an independent association of low childhood SES on the risk for overweight and obesity later in life.

Conclusions

Taken together, there is evidence that childhood SES is associated with type 2 diabetes and obesity in later life. The database on the role of psychological factors such as traumata and childhood adversities for the future risk of type 2 diabetes or obesity is too small to draw conclusions. Thus, more population-based longitudinal studies and international standards to assess psychosocial factors are needed to clarify the mechanisms leading to the observed health disparities.

A tale of two countries--the United States and Japan: are differences in health due to differences in overweight?

Background

Despite similar standards of living and health care systems for older persons, there are marked differences in the relative health of the elderly populations in the United States (US) and Japan. We explore the association of overweight and obesity with these health disparities.

Methods

Data on older adults from the US National Health Interview Survey (1994) and the Longitudinal Study of Aging II (1994) were compared to similar data from the 1999-2001 Nihon University Japanese Longitudinal Study of Aging. Regression analyses for the 2 countries were conducted to examine the correlates of being overweight and obese, and the relationships of overweight and obesity with activities of daily living functioning, heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes.

Results

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is higher in the US than in Japan, as is the prevalence of heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and functioning problems. Education level and marital status are predictors of overweight for older Americans but not for older Japanese people. Health behaviors affect weight in all groups. The prevalence of functioning problems and disease are more likely to be associated with being overweight in US men and women than in Japanese women, and are not associated with being overweight in Japanese men.

Conclusion

Despite similar standards of living and health care systems for older persons, the conditions associated with poor health differ in the US and Japan. Being overweight or obese appears to be related to more functioning problems and arthritis in the US than in Japan.