Work

Early-Life Socioeconomic Status and the Prevalence of Breast Cancer in Later Life

Year: 2011

Type: article

Abstract: Knowledge of mechanisms linking early-life social environment and breast cancer remains limited. We explore direct and indirect effects of early-life socioeconomic status (SES) on breast cancer prevalence in later life. Using 50-year data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (N = 4,275) and structural equation modeling, we found a negative direct effect of early-life SES, indicating that women from higher-SES family background had lower breast cancer prevalence than women from lower-SES families. Additionally, early-life SES has a positive indirect effect on breast cancer via women's adult SES and age at first birth. Were it not for their higher SES in adulthood and delayed childbearing, women from higher-SES families of origin would have had lower breast cancer prevalence than women from lower-SES families. Yet, early-life SES is associated positively with adult SES and age at first birth, and women's higher adult SES and delayed childbearing are related to higher breast cancer prevalence.

Source: Research on Aging

DOI: 10.1177/0164027511415632

Authors: Tetyana Pudrovska, Andriy Anishkin, Yifang Shen

Institutions: The University of Texas at Austin, University of Maryland, College Park

Language: English

Topic: Health disparities and outcomes

Subfield: Health

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green