Social Patterning of Health over the Lifecourse
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Differences in health between social groups have been recorded for over 150 years in Britain, and reducing these inequalities in health is a key policy goal in all countries of the UK. However, our understanding of what causes these differences is limited. In order to design policies to reduce inequalities in health we need to know at what stage of life they are established (for example, in early childhood, adolescence, or adulthood) and how they change as people age. It is also important to understand the relative importance of different factors that affect health, such as material poverty, social exclusion, health-related behaviours and psychosocial factors; and, how these factors cause biological changes in the body that lead to ill health. In examining these factors, we need to investigate their context – both in time and place - as these may affect the ways in which they interact with each other to influence people's health.
- To examine changes in people’s social circumstances and health as they age, and differences in people’s heath at the same age at different points in time
- To investigate specific pathways - social, biological, behavioural, psychosocial and cognitive - between people’s social position and health
- To explore how socioeconomic and health inequalities are passed between generations
- To examine how differences in society and the economy between countries and over time might influence social patterns of health.
Publications
[in press]
Benzeval M, Green MJ, Macintyre S. Does perceived physical attractiveness in adolescence predict better socioeconomic position in adulthood? Evidence from 20 years of follow up in a population cohort study. PLoS One [in press]
Phillips AC, Robertson T, Carroll D, Der G, Shiels PG, McGlynn L, Benzeval M. Do symptoms of depression predict telomere length? Evidence from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study. Psychosomatic Medicine [in press]
2013
Dibben C, Popham F. Are health inequalities evident at all ages? An ecological study of English mortality records. European Journal of Public Health 2013;23:39-45
pubmedGreen MJ, Leyland AH, Sweeting H, Benzeval M. Socioeconomic position and adolescent trajectories in smoking, drinking and psychiatric distress: a latent class analysis. Journal of Adolescent Health 2013;[epub ahead of print]
Hannah MK, Batty GD, Benzeval M. Common mental disorders and mortality in the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study: comparing the General Health Questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Journal of Epidemiology and Community 2013;[epub ahead of print]
open accessKlabbers G, Bosma H, Kempen GI, Benzeval M, Van den Akker M, van Eijk JT. Do psychosocial profiles predict self-rated health, morbidity and mortality in late middle-aged and older people?. Journal of Behavioral Medicine 2013;[epub ahead of print]
pubmedPopham F, Dibben C, Bambra C. Are health inequalities really not the smallest in the Nordic welfare states? A comparison of mortality inequality in 37 countries. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 2013;67:412-418
pubmed open access2012
Batty GD, Bhaskar A, Emslie C, Benzeval M, Der G, Lewar H, Hunt K. Association of life course socioeconomic disadvantage with future problem drinking and heavy drinking: gender differentials in the west of Scotland. International Journal of Public Health 2012;57:119-26
pubmedBatty GD, Hamer M, Der G. Does somatic illness explain the association between common mental disorder and elevated mortality? Findings from extended follow-up of study members in the UK Health and Lifestyle Survey. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 2012;66:647-649
pubmedBrown D, Benzeval M, Gayle V, Macintyre S, O'Reilly D, Leyland AH. Childhood residential mobility and health in late adolescence and adulthood: findings from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 2012;66:942-950
pubmed open accessBrown D, O'Reilly D, Gayle V, Macintyre S, Benzeval M, Leyland AH. Socio-demographic and health characteristics of individuals left behind in deprived and declining areas in Scotland. Health & Place 2012;18:440-444
pubmed open accessCarroll D, Ginty A, Der G, Hunt K, Benzeval M, Phillips AC. Increased blood pressure reactions to acute mental stress are associated with 16-year cardiovascular disease mortality. Psychophysiology 2012;[epub ahead of print]
Carroll D, Phillips AC, Der G, Hunt K, Bibbey A, Benzeval M, Ginty A. Low forced expiratory volume is associated with blunted cardiac reactions to acute psychological stress in a community sample of middle-aged men and women. International Journal of Psychophysiology 2012;[epub ahead of print]
pubmedDer G, Batty GD, Benzeval M, Deary IJ, Green MJ, McGlynn L, McIntyre A, Robertson T, Shiels PG. Is telomere length a biomarker for aging: cross-sectional evidence from the West of Scotland?. PLoS One 2012;7:e45166
open accessDykiert D, Der G, Starr JM, Deary IJ. Age differences in intra-individual variability in simple and choice reaction time: systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One 2012;7
Dykiert D, Der G, Starr JM, Deary IJ. Sex differences in reaction time mean and intra-individual variability across the life span. Developmental Psychology 2012;[epub ahead of print]
pubmedEllaway A, Benzeval M, Green M, Leyland AH, Macintyre S. 'Getting sicker quicker': does living in a more deprived neighbourhood mean your health deteriorates faster?. Health & Place 2012;18:132-7
pubmed open accessGray CM, Hunt K, Lorimer K, Anderson AS, Benzeval M, Wyke S. Words and context matter [rapid response letter]. BMJ 2012;344
open accessGreen MJ, Espie CA, Hunt K, Benzeval M. The longitudinal course of insomnia symptoms: inequalities by gender and occupational class among two different age cohorts followed for 20 years in the West of Scotland. Sleep 2012;35:815-23
pubmed open accessKatikireddi SV, Niedzwiedz CL, Popham F. Trends in population mental health before and after the 2008 recession: a repeat cross-sectional analysis of the 1991–2010 Health Surveys of England. BMJ Open 2012;2:e001790
open accessPopham F, Gray L, Bambra C. Employment status and the prevalence of poor self rated health: findings from UK individual level repeated cross-sectional data from 1978 to 2004. BMJ Open 2012;2:e001342
pubmed open accessPopham F, Skivington K, Benzeval M. Why do those out of work because of sickness or disability have a high mortality risk? Evidence from a Scottish cohort. European Journal of Public Health 2012;[epub ahead of print]
pubmed open accessRitchie SJ, Bates TC, Der G, Starr JM, Deary IJ. Education is associated with higher later-life IQ scores, but not with faster cognitive processing speed. Psychology and Aging 2012;[epub ahead of print]
pubmedRobertson T, Batty GD, Der G, Fenton C, Shiels PG, Benzeval M. Is socioeconomic status associated with biological aging as measured by telomere length?. Epidemiologic Reviews 2012;[epub ahead of print]
pubmed open accessRobertson T, Batty GD, Der G, Green MJ, McGlynn L M, McIntyre A, Shiels PG, Benzeval M. Is telomere length socially patterned? Evidence from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study. PLoS One 2012;7:e41805
open accessWhitley E, Deary IJ, Der G, Batty GD, Benzeval M. Paternal age in relation to offspring intelligence in the West of Scotland Twenty-07 prospective cohort study. PLoS One 2012;7
pubmed open access2011
Benzeval M, Green MJ, Leyland AH. Do social inequalities in health widen or converge with age? Longitudinal evidence from three cohorts in the West of Scotland. BMC Public Health 2011;11:947
pubmed open accessBenzeval M. What is the role of income in creating health inequalities? Evidence from cross-sectional and longitudinal studies [PhD], MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit 2011.
open accessBooker C, Harding S, Benzeval M. A systematic review of the effect of retention methods in population-based cohort studies. BMC Public Health 2011;11:249
pubmed open accessCalvin C M, Batty GD, Lowe G D, Deary IJ. Childhood intelligence and midlife inflammatory and hemostatic biomarkers: the National Child Development Study (1958) Cohort. Health Psychology 2011;30:710-8
pubmedCalvin C M, Deary IJ, Fenton C, Roberts B, Der G, Leckenby N, Batty GD. Intelligence in youth and all-cause-mortality: systematic review with meta-analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology 2011;40:626-44
pubmedCarroll D, Phillips AC, Der G, Hunt K, Benzeval M. Blood pressure reactions to acute mental stress and future blood pressure status: data from the 12-year follow-up in the West of Scotland Study. Psychosomatic Medicine 2011;73:737-42
pubmedFuller N, Green MJ, Benzeval M. The West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study: health in the community - the use of bioimpedance analysis for the measurement of body composition in Wave 5. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit Working Paper no. 28 , Glasgow, 2011
Ginty A T, Phillips AC, Der G, Deary IJ, Carroll D. Cognitive ability and simple reaction time predict cardiac reactivity in the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study. Psychophysiology 2011;48:1022-7
pubmedGinty A T, Phillips AC, Der G, Deary IJ, Carroll D. Heart rate reactivity is associated with future cognitive ability and cognitive change in a large community sample. International Journal of Psychophysiology 2011;82:167-74
pubmedGray C M, Hunt K, Lorimer K, Anderson AS, Benzeval M, Wyke S. Words matter: a qualitative investigation of which weight status terms are acceptable and motivate weight loss when used by health professionals?. BMC Public Health 2011;11:513
pubmed open accessGreen MJ, Benzeval M. Aging, social class and common mental disorders: Longitudinal evidence from three cohorts in the West of Scotland. Psychological Medicine 2011;41:565-74
pubmed open accessLorimer K, Gray C M, Hunt K, Wyke S, Anderson A, Benzeval M. Response to written feedback of clinical data within a longitudinal study: a qualitative study exploring the ethical implications. BMC Medical Research Methodology 2011;11:10
pubmed open accessMaxwell F, McGlynn LM, Muir HC, Talwar D, Benzeval M , Robertson T, Roxburgh CS, McMillan DC, Horgan PG, Shiels PG. Telomere attrition and decreased Fetuin A levels indicate accelerated biological ageing and are implicated in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer. Clinical Cancer Research 2011;17:5573-81
pubmed open accessMcCartney G, Mahmood L, Leyland AH, Batty GD, Hunt K . Contribution of smoking-related and alcohol-related deaths to the gender gap in mortality: evidence from 30 European countries. Tobacco Control 2011;20:166-8
pubmed open accessPhillips AC, Der G, Shipton D, Benzeval M. Prospective associations between cardiovascular reactions to acute psychological stress and change in physical disability in a large community sample. International Journal of Psychophysiology 2011;81:332-7
pubmedPhillips C, Hunt K, Der G, Carroll D. Blunted cardiac reactions to acute psychological stress predict symptoms of depression five years later: evidence from a large community study. Psychophysiology 2011;48:142-8
pubmedSeaman S, Benzeval M. The West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study: health in the community - inverse probability weights for Wave 5. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit Working Paper no. 27 , Glasgow, 2011
Wills A K, Lawlor DA, Matthews F, Aihie Sayer A, Bakra E, Ben Shlomo Y, Benzeval M, Brunner E, Cooper R, Kivimäki M, Kuh D, Muniz-Terrera G, Hardy R. Lifecourse trajectories of systolic blood pressure using longitudinal data from UK cohorts. PLoS Medicine 2011;8:e1000440
pubmed open access2010
Batty GD, Der G, Benzeval M, Deary IJ. Does IQ predict cardiovascular disease mortality as strongly as other risk factors? Comparison of effect estimates using the Twenty-07 prospective cohort study. European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation 2010;17:24-7
pubmed open accessBatty GD, Whitley E, Deary IJ, Gale CR, Tynelius P, Rasmussen F. Psychosis alters association between IQ and future risk of attempted suicide: cohort study of 1,109,475 Swedish men. British Medical Journal 2010;340:c2506
pubmed open accessDykiert D, Hall D, van Gemeren N, Benson R, Der G, Starr JM, Deary IJ. The effects of high altitude on choice reaction time mean and intra-individual variability: results of the Edinburgh Altitude Research Expedition of 2008. Neuropsychology 2010;24:391-401
pubmedHamer M, Batty GD, Stamatakis E, Kivimäki M. The combined influence of hypertension and common mental disorder on all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality. Journal of Hypertension 2010;28:2401-6
pubmedHamer M, Stamatakis E, Batty GD. Objectively assessed secondhand smoke exposure and mental health in adults: cross-sectional and prospective evidence from the Scottish Health Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry 2010;67:850-5
pubmedHamer M, Stamatakis E, Kivimäki M, Lowe G D, Batty GD. Objectively measured secondhand smoke exposure and risk of cardiovascular disease: what is the mediating role of inflammatory and hemostatic factors?. Journal of the American College of Cardiologists 2010;56:18-23
pubmedHamer M, Stamatakis E, Kivimäki M, Pascal Kengne A, Batty GD. Psychological distress, glycated hemoglobin, and mortality in adults with and without diabetes. Psychosomatic Medicine 2010;72:882-6
pubmedHamer MBatty G D, Stamatakis E., Kivimaki M. Hypertension awareness and psychological distress. Hypertension 2010;56:547-50
pubmedKivimäki M , Tabak A G, Lawlor DA, Batty GD, Singh-Manoux A, Jokela M, Virtanen M, Salo P, Oksanen T, Pentti J, Witte D R, Vahtera J. Antidepressant use before and after the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes: a longitudinal modeling study. Diabetes Care 2010;33:1471-6
pubmed open accessKivimäki M, Hamer M, Batty GD, Geddes JR, Tabak AG, Pentti J, Virtanen M, Vahtera J. Antidepressant medication use, weight gain, and risk of type 2 diabetes: a population-based study. Diabetes Care 2010;33:2611-6
pubmedKvaavik E, Batty GD, Ursin G, Huxley R, Gale CR. Influence of individual and combined health behaviors on total and cause-specific mortality in men and women: the United Kingdom health and lifestyle survey. Archives of Internal Medicine 2010;170:711-8
pubmedLi Q, Chalmers J, Czernichow S, Neal B, Taylor B A, Zoungas S, Poulter N, Woodward M, Patel A, de Galan B, Batty GD. Oral disease and subsequent cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes: a prospective cohort study based on the Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron Modified-Release Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) trial. Diabetologia 2010;53:2320-7
pubmedLorimer K, Green M, Shipton D, Benzeval M. The West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study: health in the community - wave 5 fieldwork report, 2007/8. MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit Working Paper no. 26 , Glasgow, 2010
Luciano M, Batty GD, Mcgilchrist M, Linkstead P, Fitzpatrick B, Jackson C, Pattie A, Dominiczak AF, Morris AD, Smith BH, Porteous D, Deary IJ. Shared genetic aetiology between cognitive ability and cardiovascular disease risk factors: Generation Scotland's Scottish family health study. Intelligence 2010;38:304-313
Monasta L, Batty GD, Cattaneo A, Lutje V, Ronfani L, Van Lenthe F J, Brug J. Early-life determinants of overweight and obesity: a review of systematic reviews. Obesity Reviews 2010;11:695-708
pubmedParr C L, Batty GD, Lam TH, Barzi F, Fang X, Ho S C, Jee S H, Ansary-Moghaddam A, Jamrozik K, Ueshima H, Woodward M, Huxley R R. Body-mass index and cancer mortality in the Asia-Pacific Cohort Studies Collaboration: pooled analyses of 424,519 participants. Lancet Oncology 2010;11:741-52
pubmedPhillips AC, Batty GD, Weiss A, Deary I, Gale CR, Thomas GN, Carroll D. Neuroticism, cognitive ability, and the metabolic syndrome: the Vietnam Experience Study. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 2010;69:193-201
pubmedPhillips AC, Carroll D, Gale CR, Drayson M, Thomas GN, Batty GD. Lymphocyte sub-population cell counts are associated with the metabolic syndrome and its components in the Vietnam Experience Study. Atherosclerosis 2010;213:294-8
pubmedPhillips AC, Carroll D, Gale CR, Lord J M, Arlt W, Batty GD. Cortisol, DHEA sulphate, their ratio, and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the Vietnam Experience Study. European Journal of Endocrinology 2010;163:285-92
pubmedPhillips AC, Carroll D, Gale CR, Lord J M, Arlt W, Batty GD. Cortisol, DHEAS, their ratio and the metabolic syndrome: evidence from the Vietnam Experience Study. European Journal of Endocrinology 2010;162:919-23
pubmedPhillips AC, Der G, Carroll D. Self-reported health, self-reported fitness and all-cause mortality: prospective cohort study. British Journal of Health Psychology 2010;15:337-46
pubmedSchoon I, Cheng H, Gale CR, Batty GD, Deary IJ. Social status, cognitive ability, and educational attainment as predictors of liberal social attitudes and political trust. Intelligence 2010;38:144-50
open accessSweeting H, West P, Young R, Der G. Can we explain increases in young people's psychological distress over time?. Social Science & Medicine 2010;71:1819-30
pubmed open accessvon Stumm S, Macintyre S, Batty GD, Clark H, Deary IJ. Intelligence, social class of origin, childhood behavior disturbance and education as predictors of status attainment in midlife in men: the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s study. Intelligence 2010;38:202-211
Watts L. 'I am just glad I can you know, and while I can I won't just sit in the house, I'll get out and about and do something' older adults' understandings and experiences of physical activity [MSc], MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit 2010.
