Life-course financial strain and health in African–Americans

• Published in: Social science & medicine (1982) Vol. 71; no. 2; pp. 259 - 265
• Main Authors: Szanton, Sarah L., Thorpe, Roland J., Whitfield, Keith
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-07-2010; Elsevier; Pergamon Press Inc
• Series: Social Science & Medicine
• Subjects: Adults; African Americans; Biological and medical sciences; Black or African American - psychology; Black or African American - statistics & numerical data; Childhood; Cognition Disorders - ethnology; Cognition Disorders - etiology; Cognitive Functioning; Cohort Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression (Economics); Depression - ethnology; Depression - etiology; Disability; Disabled Persons - statistics & numerical data; Educational Status; Ethnicity; Financial loss; Financial strain; Handicapped; Health; Health inequality; Health Status Disparities; Humans; Income - statistics & numerical data; Life Events; Lifecourse; Low Income Groups; Lung Diseases - ethnology; Lung Diseases - etiology; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Physically Handicapped; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Respiratory Function Tests; Social research; Socioeconomic factors; Stress, Psychological - complications; Stress, Psychological - economics; Twin Studies as Topic; Twins; U.S.A; USA; USA Financial strain African Americans Disability Ethnicity Twins Lifecourse; United States; North America; America; United States > US; Disability; USA; Ethnicity; African Americans; Lifecourse; Twins; Financial strain; Human; Ethnic origin; Personal income; Ethnic group; Twin; Social medicine; Economic aspect; Public health; African American
• ISSN: 0277-9536; 1873-5347
• DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.04.001

Differential exposure to financial strain may explain some differences in population health. However, few studies have examined the cumulative health effect of financial strain across the life-course. Studies that have are limited to self-reported health measures. Our objective was to examine the associations between childhood, adulthood, and life-course, or cumulative, financial strain with disability, lung function, cognition, and depression. In a population-based cross-sectional cohort study of adult African–American twins enrolled in the US Carolina African American Twin Study of Aging (CAATSA), we found that participants who reported financial strain as children and as adults are more likely to be physically disabled, and report more depressive symptoms than their unstrained counterparts. Participants who reported childhood financial strain had lower cognitive functioning than those with no childhood financial strain. We were unable to detect a difference in lung function beyond the effect of actual income and education in those who reported financial strain compared to those who did not. Financial strain in adulthood was more consistently associated with poor health than was childhood financial strain, a finding that suggests targeting adult financial strain could help prevent disability and depression among African–American adults.