Why Intelligent People Live Longer

Numerous studies find a positive relationship between cognitive ability, IQ as measured in childhood or youth, and subsequent survival. Explanations range from the idea that low ability is an indicator of adverse systemic events in early life to the idea that high cognitive functioning is required continuously to maintain health and reduce threats to survival. The Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) has followed a large cohort of Wisconsin high school seniors from ages 18 to 69. As expected, in the WLS survival varies positively with adolescent IQ. However, rank in high school class accounts completely for the relationship between IQ and survival, and it has a much larger effect on survival. These findings suggest that cognitive functioning improves survival by promoting behaviours that boost health status, minimize exposure to known risks and optimize returns to health producing inputs, and that such behaviours are firmly in place by late adolescence

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CDE Working Paper No. 2000-01This is a preliminary draft. Please do not cite or quot

Interpreting the Paradoxical in the Hispanic Paradox

This paper discusses problems that are common to both the epidemiologic risk-factor approach and the demographic variable-based approach to studying population health. We argue that there is a shared reluctance to move away from a narrow variable-based thinking that pervades both disciplines, and a tendency to reify the multivariate linear procedures employed in both disciplines. In particular, we concentrate on the difficulties generated by classical variable-based approaches that are especially striking when one neglects selection processes and the use of strategies to minimize its effects. We illustrate these difficulties in terms of the so-called “Hispanic Paradox”, which refers to comparative health advantages that some Hispanic groups appear to have. We find that much of what is conceived by demographers and epidemiologists as a paradox may not be paradoxical at all.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73920/1/j.1749-6632.2001.tb02751.x.pd

Covid-19 Aftermath and Population Science’s Research Agenda

This essay examines the potential impact of Covid-19 on maternal and child health, the elderly, and the “sandwich generation” of young adults

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Wisconsin (P30 HD05876) and to the Center for Demography of Health and Aging, University of Wisconsin (P30 AG17266). 2 Context. We know precious little about adult health in developing countries in general and Latin America in particular. We know even less about the health conditions of elderly individuals. Since Mexico and many other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean region are and will continue to experience a very rapid process of aging, it is important to generate pertinent information and analyze it promptly to identify key features that could be used to formulate and design health policies. This is particularly useful in Mexico, and other countries of the region, which have embarked in sweeping reforms of the health sector. Objective. We aim to investigate the health profile of elderly Mexicans aged 50 and over. We are guided by two overarching concerns. First, does the health profile of elderly Mexicans reveal any special features, distinct from what one would expect from extant research on elderly individuals? Second, is there any evidence of relation

Early poverty and future life expectancy with disability among the elderly in Argentina

Two aspects of the aging process in Latin America should be specially taken into account in order to evaluate future perspectives of morbidity among the elderly in the region: 1) Cohorts who will compose the bulk of the elderly population in the 21st century in Latin America survived to old age largely because of improvements in medicine and to a much lesser extent to amelioration of living standards, as it is the case in high income countries, and 2) a high proportion of the Latin American population still live in poor economic conditions and even these vulnerable individuals continue to experience gains in (adult and older adult) survival. We aim to evaluate to what an extent recent levels of poverty and indigence among young children in Argentina could impact future levels of disability and demands for long-term care of older people. Our results show that given the levels of poverty and indigence in childhood observed between 1988 and 1994, the relationship between poor early conditions, and the risk of being disabled among the elderly in Argentina, life expectancy with disability at age 60 years old would increase substantially between 2000 and 2040, both in absolute and relative terms

The Elderly in Latin America and the Caribbean

Texto dispoñible en galego, español e inglésEste artigo céntrase nos perfís de saúde da poboacion máis madura e defende a hipótese de que o estado de saúde dos máis vellos viuse afectado significativamente pola evolución da mortalidade nos países da rexión. Utilizamos o SABE (Survey on Health and Well-Being of Elders) sobre unha mostra representativa do tipo cross-section de 10.000 persoas de 60 anos e máis, mediante enquisas realizadas a domicilio en sete grandes cidades de América Latina e do Caribe. Analizamos os seguintes indicadores de saúde: o estado de saúde subxectivo (baseándonos na declaración dos enquisados), as limitacións funcionais, as actividades cotiás (Activities of Daily Living -ADL-) e as actividades instrumentais cotiás (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living -IADL-), a obesidade (relación entre o peso en quilogramos e o cadrado da altura en centímetros) e as condicións crónicas segundo a declaración dos enquisados (incluíndose a diabetes). Analizamos as pautas de saúde e as condicións crónicas e de enfermidade confesadas polo entrevistado; tamén examinamos a relación entre as condicións da infancia e a saúde no adulto. En particular, pretendemos demostrar que as condicións de saúde da infancia teñen relación coa saúde na etapa adulta. Con todo, as relacións non son fortes e a evidencia é bastante feble aínda no mellor dos casosEste artículo se centra en los perfiles de salud de la poblacion más madura y defiende la hipótesis de que el estado de salud de los más viejos se ha visto afectado significativamente por la evolución de la mortalidad en los países de la región. Utilizamos el SABE (Survey on Health and Well-Being of Elders) sobre una muestra representativa del tipo cross-section de 10.000 personas de 60 años y más, mediante encuestas realizadas a domicilio en siete grandes ciudades de América Latina y del Caribe. Analizamos los siguientes indicadores de salud: el estado de salud subjetivo (basándonos en la declaración de los encuestados), las limitaciones funcionales, las actividades cotidianas (Activities of Daily Living -ADL-) y las actividades instrumentales cotidianas (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living -IADL-), la obesidad (relación entre el peso en kilogramos y el cuadrado de la altura en centímetros) y las condiciones crónicas según la declaración de los encuestados (incluyéndose la diabetes). Analizamos las pautas de salud y las condiciones crónicas y de enfermedad confesadas por el entrevistado; también examinamos la relación entre las condiciones de la infancia y la salud en el adulto. En particular, pretendemos demostrar que las condiciones de salud de la infancia tienen relación con la salud en la etapa adulta. Sin embargo, las relaciones no son fuertes y la evidencia es bastante débil aún en el mejor de los casosThis paper focuses on elderly health profiles and examines the conjecture that elderly health status has been significantly impacted by the evolution of mortality in countries of the region. We use SABE (Survey on Health and Well-Being of Elders), a cross-sectional representative sample of over 10,000 elderly aged 60 and above in private homes fielded in seven major cities in Latin America and the Caribbean. We examine the following health outcomes: self-reported health, functional limitations-Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL’s), obesity (ratio of weight in kilograms to the square of height in centimeters), and self reported chronic conditions (including diabetes). We examine patterns of self-reported health, self-reported chronic conditions, and disability. We also examine relations between early childhood conditions and adult health. In particular, we attempt to illustrate the idea that early childhood conditions and adult health are related. However, the relations are not strong and the evidence for it is weak at bestS

Adult obesity, disease and longevity in Mexico

OBJECTIVE: To obtain estimates of the effects of overweight and obesity on the incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and adult mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We use three waves (2000, 2002, 2012) of the Mexican Health and Aging Survey (MHAS). We employ parametric hazard models to estimate mortality and conventional logistic models to estimate incidence of T2D. RESULTS: Obesity and overweight have a strong effect on the incidence of T2D; this, combined with the large impact of diabetes on adult mortality, generates increases in mortality that translate into losses of 2 to 3 years of life expectancy at age 50. CONCLUSIONS: If increasing trends in obesity in Mexico continue as in the past, progress in adult survival may be slowed down considerably and the incidence of T2D will continue to increase

Childhood socioeconomic position and objectively measured physical capability levels in adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis

<p><b>Background:</b> Grip strength, walking speed, chair rising and standing balance time are objective measures of physical capability that characterise current health and predict survival in older populations. Socioeconomic position (SEP) in childhood may influence the peak level of physical capability achieved in early adulthood, thereby affecting levels in later adulthood. We have undertaken a systematic review with meta-analyses to test the hypothesis that adverse childhood SEP is associated with lower levels of objectively measured physical capability in adulthood.</p> <p><b>Methods and Findings:</b> Relevant studies published by May 2010 were identified through literature searches using EMBASE and MEDLINE. Unpublished results were obtained from study investigators. Results were provided by all study investigators in a standard format and pooled using random-effects meta-analyses. 19 studies were included in the review. Total sample sizes in meta-analyses ranged from N = 17,215 for chair rise time to N = 1,061,855 for grip strength. Although heterogeneity was detected, there was consistent evidence in age adjusted models that lower childhood SEP was associated with modest reductions in physical capability levels in adulthood: comparing the lowest with the highest childhood SEP there was a reduction in grip strength of 0.13 standard deviations (95% CI: 0.06, 0.21), a reduction in mean walking speed of 0.07 m/s (0.05, 0.10), an increase in mean chair rise time of 6% (4%, 8%) and an odds ratio of an inability to balance for 5s of 1.26 (1.02, 1.55). Adjustment for the potential mediating factors, adult SEP and body size attenuated associations greatly. However, despite this attenuation, for walking speed and chair rise time, there was still evidence of moderate associations.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> Policies targeting socioeconomic inequalities in childhood may have additional benefits in promoting the maintenance of independence in later life.</p&gt