Invited Commentary: Is the Long Shadow of Childhood Disadvantage on Lifelong Health Getting Worse Over Time?

Abstract

Social inequalities in health and their early-life origins have been extensively documented. Although the complex direct and intermediate mechanisms linking early-life disadvantage to later health are not yet fully understood, new findings on biological markers distinctly related with early-life experiences suggest a causal relationship. In this issue, Fuller-Rowell et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2021:190(11):2284-2293) step back to examine the role of childhood disadvantage in the United States in different periods, observing that the relationship with later health seems to have strengthened over time. The main explanation the authors bring up has to do with increased income segregation and changes in labor market composition that limit opportunities for persons with low educational attainment. In other words, while the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, the middle class shrinks, and there are fewer interactions across different socioeconomic groups and the social ladder is blocked. Other evidence suggests that investments in children, through early education and academic support programs, could help reduce the consequences of childhood disadvantage on long-term health.