EARLY-LIFE ADVERSITIES AND LATER-LIFE MORTALITY FOR MEN AND WOMEN

Encountering multiple adversities in early-life is common and result in poorer health than singular adversity, but little is known about how different clusters of early-life adversities (ELAs) matter for the risk of death. We test gender differences in exposure and vulnerability to multi-domain ELAs as well as gender-specific pathways linking ELAs to all-cause mortality in later life. Data come from the Midlife in the US study (n = 6,315). Three domains of ELAs (low SES, abuse, disrupted family structure) and potential mediators (healthy lifestyle and material, psychological, and social resources) were collected in 1995/1996. The National Death Index is used to track mortality over 20 years. Among those from middle/high SES families, men are more likely than women to have experienced frequent physical and emotional abuse, yet there is no such difference among those from low SES families. Exposure to multi-domain ELAs increases the risk of death for women. The inverse association between ELAs and health-promoting resources in later life is stronger for women than for men. Material resources and healthy behaviors play a bigger role in mediating the effect for men than for women. These potential mediators account for most of the observed association between ELAs and all-cause mortality for men, but only about half for women. Intervention strategies to promote protective factors and thereby to reduce the adverse effects of ELAs might be more difficult to implement for women than men. More research is needed to understand why women are more vulnerable than men to multi-domain ELAs.