TY - JOUR T1 - Childhood Misfortune and Handgrip Strength Among Black, White, and Hispanic Americans. JF - J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci Y1 - 2019 A1 - Natalie R Smith A1 - Kenneth F Ferraro A1 - Blakelee R Kemp A1 - Patricia M Morton A1 - Sarah A Mustillo A1 - Jacqueline L. Angel KW - Adult KW - Adult Survivors of Child Abuse KW - African Americans KW - Aged KW - European Continental Ancestry Group KW - Female KW - Hand Strength KW - Health Status KW - Hispanic Americans KW - Humans KW - Male KW - Risk Factors KW - Sex Factors AB -

OBJECTIVE: Although early-life insults may affect health, few studies use objective physical measures of adult health. This study investigated whether experiencing misfortune during childhood is associated with handgrip strength (HGS) in later life.

METHOD: Data on childhood misfortune and adult characteristics from the Health and Retirement Study were used to predict baseline and longitudinal change in HGS among White, Black, and Hispanic American men and women.

RESULTS: Regression analyses revealed that multiple indicators of childhood misfortune were related to HGS at baseline, but the relationships were distinct for men and women. Over the study, having one childhood impairment predicted steeper declines in HGS for men, but childhood misfortune was unrelated to HGS change among women. Hispanic Americans had lower baseline HGS than their non-Hispanic counterparts and manifested steeper declines in HGS.

DISCUSSION: The relationship between childhood exposures and adult HGS varied by the type of misfortune, but there was no evidence that the relationship varied by race/ethnicity. The significant and enduring Hispanic disadvantage in HGS warrants greater attention in gerontology.

VL - 74 UR - http://psychsocgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/doi/10.1093/geronb/gbw147https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/article/2645640/Childhood-Misfortune-and-Handgrip-Strength-Among IS - 3 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27927743?dopt=Abstract JO - GERONB ER -