Intergenerational mobility and adult oral health in a British cohort

This study aimed to characterize trajectories of intergeneration mobility from birth to age 33 years and to assess the influence of these trajectories on adult oral health.

Repeated data on occupational social class (birth and 7, 11, 16, 23 and 33 years) and two subjective oral health indicators (lifetime and past-year prevalence of persistent trouble with gums or mouth) measured at age 33 years, from the 1958 National Child Development Study, were used for this analysis. Latent class growth analysis (LCGA) was used to identify different trajectories of exposure to manual social class over time. Binary logistic regression was then used to explore the association between these trajectories and each oral health indicator, adjusting for participants' sex.

Latent class growth analysis showed that a four trajectory model provided the best fit to the data. The four trajectories that emerged were identified as stable manual, stable nonmanual, late steep increase (those who were likely to be in the manual social class until age 16 years but ended up in the nonmanual social class afterwards) and steady increase (those whose likelihood of leaving the manual social class increased gradually over time). Lifetime and past-year prevalence of persistent trouble with gums or mouth was significantly higher in the stable manual trajectory than in all other trajectories. No differences were found between the stable nonmanual, late steep increase and steady increase trajectories.

Although four distinctive trajectories were identified in the 1958 NCDS, only those who remained in the manual social class over time reported worse oral health by age 33 years. Proximal socioeconomic experiences may be more relevant to adult oral health than early life experiences.