Read, Sanna 
ORCID: 0000-0002-5532-8746, Grundy, Emily ORCID: 0000-0002-9633-1116 and Wolf, Douglas A.
(2011)
Fertility history, health, and health changes in later life: a panel study of British women and men born 1923–49.
Population Studies, 65 (2).
pp. 201-215.
ISSN 0032-4728
Abstract
We investigated associations between later-life health and fertility history for women and men, using the British Household Panel Survey. We modelled health and its rate of change jointly with sample retention over an 11-year period. For women, childlessness is associated with limitation of activity for health reasons and faster acquisition of the limitation. High parity (four or more children) is associated with poorer health for both women and men. For the parous, this association is also found when age at first birth is controlled. Early parenthood is associated with poorer health. For parents of two or more children, a birth interval of less than 18 months is associated with having a health limitation and an accelerated rate of acquiring it. We conclude that biosocial pathways link parenthood careers and the later-life health of both women and men, and that implications of closely spaced births for parents merit further attention.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rpst20 |
| Additional Information: | © 2011 Population Investigation Committee |
| Divisions: | Social Policy Lifecourse, Ageing & Population Health |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HM Sociology H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Oct 2013 10:12 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Nov 2024 04:21 |
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/53854 |
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