These researchers examined data from the Swedish Level of Living Survey (LNU) and the Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old (SWEOLD) in this assessment of the associations between social and economic childhood conditions and the onset and progression of functional health problems from midlife into old age, and the extent to which potential associations are mediated by educational attainment and smoking. Data from the LNU and SWEOLD were merged, resulting in a cohort of 1765 individuals aged 30–50 years and free from functional health problems at first interview in 1968, providing up to 36 years of follow-up. In multilevel regression analyses, social and economic disadvantages in childhood (e.g., conflicts or economic problems in the family) were associated with an earlier onset and a faster progression of functional health problems from midlife into old age. In subsequent modeling, differences in educational attainment, but not smoking, explained much of the association between childhood disadvantages and trajectories of functional health problems.
