Life Course Lens on Aging and Health

Abstract

To advance life course research on aging and health, this chapter examines sources of evidence on the topic, identifying three vantage points for applying the life course lens: studying (a) centenarians, (b) the early origins of adult health, and (c) family lineage. Attention is given to adult health outcomes, while recognizing their early antecedents, including links between the pre- and reproductive stages of human life with post-reproductive aging. The evidence regarding the compression of morbidity is briefly reviewed. Recent advances in the study of aging and health are capitalizing on the use of biomarkers for early detection and linking individual-level data to community context. The evidence is compelling that social factors shape cumulative inequality in health.