Lifetime Trajectories and Drivers of Socioeconomic Health Disparities
<h3>Abstract</h3> We investigate lifetime socioeconomic health disparities through longitudinal biomarkers from the Dutch Lifelines cohort study and biobank. By constructing an allostatic load index from 12 biomarkers, we analyze the dynamics of health and its association with socioeconomic status (SES) over the life cycle. Our findings reveal that health risks linked to lower SES emerge early and precede chronic disease onset. Further analyses investigate the drivers of allostatic load and emphasize health behaviors. Our research highlights the need for early interventions targeting SES-related health disparities and provides new insights into the physiological pathways linking SES to long-term health outcomes.
Authors
- Jochen O. Mierau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9968-8807)
- Laura Viluma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0699-5777)
- Ailun Shui (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4644-7580)
- Gerard J. van den Berg
Institutions
- University Medical Center Groningen (NL)
- University of Groningen (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Journal of Human Resources
- Published
- 2025-12-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0225-14125r2
- Primary Topic
- Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Zhongnan University of Economics and Law
- International Max Planck Research School for Environmental, Cellular and Molecular Microbiology
- Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
- Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport
- China Scholarship Council
- Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen
- International Max Planck Research School for Advanced Methods in Process and Systems Engineering
- Trường Đại học Kinh tế - Luật, Đại học Quốc gia Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh