Exceptional Longevity: Are Socioeconomic Conditions in Childhood Important?

Victoria South Ballroom, Ottawa Marriott Hotel

The close relationship between early childhood conditions and health and mortality outcomes in old age has been extensively studied in both the epidemiological and demographic fields. The channels through which early life is hypothesized to influence mortality are diverse and could be direct or indirect via adult characteristics. Despite the ample evidence on the influence of childhood conditions on overall longevity, less established in the literature is whether this association holds true within long lived families and whether this is a direct effect or an indirect effect. In this paper we investigate the association between socioeconomic and biodemographic factors in early life and mortality after age 40 and through which pathways this effect may operate. An event-history database that links individuals to their childhood characteristics gathered from the 1901 and 1911 Canadian census records and to their adult characteristics is used. Gender-specific parametric models with a Gompertz specification of the risk of mortality are used to estimate the effect of early life and adult variables on mortality risks after age 40. The link between early life conditions and later life outcomes is examined both with and without intermediary characteristics, aiming for a better understanding regarding to what extent the effect of exposure to an early life insult can be mediated. Overall, it is found that adverse childhood conditions leave an indelible direct and indirect imprint on adult mortality among long-lived men, while childhood conditions only exert a significant direct effect among men from the general population. The results also suggest substantial gender differences, with men being more sensitive to early life socioeconomic conditions and adult occupation than women.

https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/pclc_conf/2015/Day1/37