%0 Journal Article %J Research on Aging %D 2022 %T Do Early-Life Social, Behavioral, and Health Exposures Increase Later-Life Arthritis Incidence? %A Blakelee R Kemp %A Kenneth F Ferraro %A Patricia M Morton %A Thomas, Patricia A %A Sarah A Mustillo %A Eileen M. Crimmins %K Adverse Childhood Experiences %K Body Mass Index %K Cumulative inequality theory %K Osteoarthritis %K rheumatoid arthritis %X

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates direct and indirect influences of childhood social, behavioral, and health exposures on later-life osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis development.

METHODS: Drawing from cumulative inequality theory and six waves of the Health and Retirement Study (2004-2014), we estimate structural equation modeling-based discrete-time survival analysis of the association between six childhood exposure domains and both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis incidence for men ( = 2720) and women ( = 2974). Using the delta method to test for mediation, we examine indirect effects via selected health-related risks and resources.

RESULTS: Risky adolescent behavior is associated with rheumatoid arthritis incidence for women (h.O.R. = 1.883, 95% C.I. [1.016, 3.490]), whereas several types of childhood exposures are associated with later-life osteoarthritis development for both men and women. Experiencing two or more childhood socioeconomic disadvantages is indirectly associated with osteoarthritis (men: coef. = 0.024, 95% C.I. [0.003, 0.045]; women: coef. = 0.111, 95% C.I. [0.071, 0.150]) and rheumatoid arthritis (men: coef. = 0.037, 95% C.I. [0.000, 0.074]; women: coef. = 0.097, 95% C.I. [0.035, 0.159]) development through adult body mass index.

DISCUSSION: Findings highlight the importance of childhood contexts in understanding the development of later-life osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

%B Research on Aging %V 44 %P 479-493 %G eng %N 7-8 %R 10.1177/01640275211044979 %0 Journal Article %J Sociological Methods and Research %D 2021 %T Evaluating the Cumulative Impact of Childhood Misfortune: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach %A Sarah A Mustillo %A Miao, Li %A Kenneth F Ferraro %K Childhood adversity %K cumulative disadvantage %K formative construct %K latent variable %K structural equation modeling %X Most studies of the early origins of adult health rely on summing dichotomously measured negative exposures to measure childhood misfortune (CM), neglect, adversity, or trauma. There are several limitations to this approach, including that it assumes each exposure carries the same level of risk for a particular outcome. Further, it often leads researchers to dichotomize continuous measures for the sake of creating an additive variable from similar indicators. We propose an alternative approach within the structural equation modeling (SEM) framework that allows differential weighting of the negative exposures and can incorporate dichotomous and continuous observed variables as well as latent variables. Using the Health and Retirement Study data, our analyses compare the traditional approach (i.e., adding indicators) with alternative models and assess their prognostic validity on adult depressive symptoms. Results reveal that parameter estimates using the conventional model likely underestimate the effects of CM on adult health outcomes. Additionally, while the conventional approach inhibits testing for mediation, our model enables testing mediation of both individual CM variables and the cumulative variable. Further, we test whether cumulative CM is moderated by the accumulation of protective factors, which facilitates theoretical advances in life course and social inequality research. The approach presented here is one way to examine the cumulative effects of early exposures while attending to diversity in the types of exposures experienced. Using the SEM framework, this versatile approach could be used to model the accumulation of risk or reward in many other areas of sociology and the social sciences beyond health. %B Sociological Methods and Research %V 50 %P 1073-1109 %G eng %N 3 %9 Article; Early Access %R 10.1177/0049124119875957 %0 Journal Article %J Journals of Gerontology, Series B. Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences %D 2019 %T Avoiding the major causes of death: Does childhood misfortune reduce the likelihood of being disease free in later life? %A Monica M Williams %A Blakelee R Kemp %A Kenneth F Ferraro %A Sarah A Mustillo %K Childhood adversity %K Mortality %K Risk Factors %X

Objectives: Although previous research reveals the detrimental effects of early misfortune on the development of chronic diseases in later life, few studies have investigated its effects on remaining disease free. This study draws on cumulative inequality theory to investigate whether experiencing childhood misfortune reduces the likelihood of remaining disease free over time.

Method: This study utilizes five waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study to test whether five domains of childhood misfortune predict being disease free at baseline (2004) and developing disease over time (2004-2012).

Results: Respondents reporting risky parental behaviors during childhood were less likely to be disease free at baseline and had an increased risk of disease onset over time, the latter driven by having a guardian who smoked in combination with more pack-years smoked in adulthood. Furthermore, we find that adult resources, that is wealth, help to mitigate the noxious effects of other misfortunes, notably poor socioeconomic conditions.

Discussion: Consistent with cumulative inequality theory, these findings reveal that experiencing multiple types of misfortune during childhood decreases the likelihood of remaining disease free in later life, but engaging in health behaviors, such as physical activity, can help to ameliorate some of the noxious effects of early misfortune.

%B Journals of Gerontology, Series B. Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences %V 74 %P 170-180 %G eng %N 1 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29617874?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1093/geronb/gby039 %0 Journal Article %J J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %D 2019 %T Childhood Misfortune and Handgrip Strength Among Black, White, and Hispanic Americans. %A Natalie R Smith %A Kenneth F Ferraro %A Blakelee R Kemp %A Patricia M Morton %A Sarah A Mustillo %A Jacqueline L. Angel %K Adult %K Adult Survivors of Child Abuse %K African Americans %K Aged %K European Continental Ancestry Group %K Female %K Hand Strength %K Health Status %K Hispanic Americans %K Humans %K Male %K Risk Factors %K Sex Factors %X

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.

%B J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci %V 74 %P 526-535 %8 2019 02 15 %G eng %U http://psychsocgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/doi/10.1093/geronb/gbw147https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/article/2645640/Childhood-Misfortune-and-Handgrip-Strength-Among %N 3 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27927743?dopt=Abstract %! GERONB %R 10.1093/geronb/gbw147 %0 Journal Article %J J Aging Health %D 2018 %T Early Origins of Adult Cancer Risk Among Men and Women: Influence of Childhood Misfortune? %A Blakelee R Kemp %A Kenneth F Ferraro %A Patricia M Morton %A Sarah A Mustillo %K African Americans %K Aged %K Child %K Female %K Hispanic Americans %K Humans %K Incidence %K Male %K Middle Aged %K Neoplasms %K Parents %K Prevalence %K Risk Assessment %K Risk Factors %K Social Class %K Social Conditions %K Socioeconomic factors %K United States %X

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of five childhood misfortune domains-parental behavior, socioeconomic status, infectious diseases, chronic diseases, and impairments-on all-site and selected site-specific cancer prevalence and all-site cancer incidence.

METHOD: Panel data from the Health and Retirement Study (2004-2012) were used to investigate cancer risk among adults above the age of 50.

RESULTS: Risky parental behavior and impairment in childhood were associated with higher odds of all-site cancer prevalence, and childhood chronic disease was associated with prostate cancer, even after adjusting for adult health and socioeconomic factors. Moreover, having one infectious disease in childhood lowered the odds of colon cancer. Cancer trends varied by race and ethnicity, most notably, higher prostate cancer prevalence among Black men and lower all-site cancer among Hispanic adults.

DISCUSSION: These findings underscore the importance of examining multiple domains of misfortune because the type and amount of misfortune influence cancer risk in different ways.

%B J Aging Health %V 30 %P 140-163 %8 2018 01 %G eng %N 1 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27683354?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1177/0898264316670049