A life course approach to mortality in Mexico

Abstract

Objective: Research on early life socioeconomic status (SES), education and mortality is less established in developing countries. This analysis aims to determine how SES and education are patterned across the life course and associated with adult mortality in Mexico. Materials and methods: Data comes from 2001-2012 Mexican Health & Aging Study (Mexican adults age 50+, n=11 222). Cox proportional hazard models predict mortality using baseline covariates. Results: In unadjusted analyses, similar mortality was seen across levels of early life SES. Lower early life SES was associated with better survival after accounting for education in the younger cohort. Lower education was only associated with mortality in the younger cohort. Conclusions: Early life SES was associated with education but the relationship between education and mortality differed across cohorts in Mexico. Selective survival and differential returns to education may explain differences.