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Infant Socioeconomic Position and Quality of Life in Midlife: A 50-Year Follow-Up Study of 2079 Individuals in Denmark

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Abstract

During the last decades, an important line of public health research has focused on the influence of socioeconomic position (SEP) on the quality of life (QoL) of individuals. While most studies have investigated the association between contemporary SEP and QoL, the present study investigated the association between SEP within the first year of life and QoL in midlife. The study population comprised all live-born singletons from the Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort (CPC; 1959–1961), who participated in a 50-year follow-up examination in 2009–2011 (N = 2079). Infant SEP was measured by a composite SEP indicator in the CPC 1-year examination. QoL was measured in the 50-year examination by the participants’ scores on three different and complementary measures of QoL: The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and the Vitality Scale of the MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) as well as by their answers to the question: “How is your quality of life at the moment?”. Linear regression and ordinal logistic regression were used to estimate the association between infant SEP and QoL in midlife. The results showed that infant SEP was positively associated with all three measures of QoL in midlife, albeit only the associations with the SWLS and the Vitality Scale were statistically significant. In conclusion, infant SEP appears to exert a lasting influence on QoL in midlife.

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Acknowledgements

We thank A. L. Villumsen and B. Zachau-Christiansen for their role in the establishment of the Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort and we thank the steering committee for permission to conduct this study. The Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank was funded by generous grants from the VELUX FOUNDATION (VELUX 26145 and 31539). This manuscript was prepared in collaboration with members of the CAMB steering committee. The list of the CAMB steering committee and those responsible for the collection of historical data can be found at http://www.camb.ku.dk/.

Funding

This study was funded by a grant from IMK Almene Fond to Trine Flensborg-Madsen.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, P.O. Box 2099, 1014, Copenhagen K, Denmark

    Emilie Rune Hegelund, Cathrine Lawaetz Wimmelmann, Emilie Just-Østergaard, Erik Lykke Mortensen & Trine Flensborg-Madsen

  2. National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Studiestræde 6, 1455, Copenhagen K, Denmark

    Anna Paldam Folker

  3. Center for Healthy Aging, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Blegdamsvej 3B, 2200, Copenhagen N, Denmark

    Cathrine Lawaetz Wimmelmann, Emilie Just-Østergaard, Erik Lykke Mortensen & Trine Flensborg-Madsen

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  1. Emilie Rune Hegelund
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Correspondence to Emilie Rune Hegelund.

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Hegelund, E.R., Folker, A.P., Wimmelmann, C.L. et al. Infant Socioeconomic Position and Quality of Life in Midlife: A 50-Year Follow-Up Study of 2079 Individuals in Denmark. Applied Research Quality Life 15, 937–951 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-019-9709-5

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