Intergenerational Social Mobility and Allostatic Load in Midlife and Older Ages: A Diagonal Reference Modeling
Sinéad McLoughlin1, Patrick Präg2, Mel Bartley3
1The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), Department of Medical Gerontology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Summary
Social mobility in Ireland does not impact allostatic load (AL) burden in later life. Health disparities are diluted by mobility, with individuals
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Public Health
- Biomedical Science
Background:
- Social inequalities in health are a significant public health concern.
- Understanding the role of life-course social mobility in health outcomes is crucial for midlife and older adults.
- Allostatic load (AL) is a measure of cumulative physiological wear and tear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between life-course intergenerational social mobility and allostatic load (AL) burden.
- To examine the influence of origin and destination socioeconomic position (SEP) on AL in older adults in Ireland.
Main Methods:
- Utilized biological data from 3,987 older adults in The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA).
- Assessed intergenerational social mobility using cross-classification of origin and destination SEP.
- Operationalized AL using 12 biomarkers and analyzed data with Diagonal Reference Modeling (DRM) and OLS regression.
Main Results:
- 55.5% of participants experienced intergenerational mobility (37.5% upward, 18.0% downward).
- A social gradient in AL was observed among the socially non-mobile.
- Social mobility, in either direction, was not significantly associated with AL burden; destination SEP had a stronger influence than origin SEP.
Conclusions:
- Social mobility appears to dilute, rather than exacerbate, social inequalities in health.
- Individuals who are socially mobile exhibit an AL burden intermediate to their origin and destination socioeconomic positions.
- Socioeconomic position's effects on health are dynamic and responsive to life-course circumstances.
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