IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ehbiol/v11y2013i2p236-244.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Symmetry of the face in old age reflects childhood social status

Author

Listed:
  • Hope, David
  • Bates, Timothy
  • Penke, Lars
  • Gow, Alan J.
  • Starr, John M.
  • Deary, Ian J.

Abstract

The association of socioeconomic status (SES) with a range of lifecourse outcomes is robust, but the causes of these associations are not well understood. Research on the developmental origins of health and disease has led to the hypothesis that early developmental disturbance might permanently affect the lifecourse, accounting for some of the burden of chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease. Here we assessed developmental disturbance using bodily and facial symmetry and examined its association with socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood, and attained status at midlife. Symmetry was measured at ages 83 (facial symmetry) and 87 (bodily symmetry) in a sample of 292 individuals from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 (LBC1921). Structural equation models indicated that poorer SES during early development was significantly associated with lower facial symmetry (standardized path coefficient −.25, p=.03). By contrast, midlife SES was not significantly associated with symmetry. The relationship was stronger in men (−.44, p=.03) than in women (−.12, p=.37), and the effect sizes were significantly different in magnitude (p=.004). These findings suggest that SES in early life (but not later in life) is associated with developmental disturbances. Facial symmetry appears to provide an effective record of early perturbations, whereas bodily symmetry seems relatively imperturbable. As bodily and facial symmetries were sensitive to different influences, they should not be treated as interchangeable. However, markers of childhood disturbance remain many decades later, suggesting that early development may account in part for associations between SES and health through the lifecourse. Future research should clarify which elements of the environment cause these perturbations.

Suggested Citation

  • Hope, David & Bates, Timothy & Penke, Lars & Gow, Alan J. & Starr, John M. & Deary, Ian J., 2013. "Symmetry of the face in old age reflects childhood social status," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 236-244.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:11:y:2013:i:2:p:236-244
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2011.06.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1570677X11000773
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ehb.2011.06.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maria Ana Lugo & Esfandiar Maasoumi, 2008. "Multidimensional Poverty Measures from an Information Theory Perspective," Working Papers 85, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    2. Leigh W. Simmons & Gillian Rhodes & Marianne Peters & Nicole Koehler, 2004. "Are human preferences for facial symmetry focused on signals of developmental instability?," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 15(5), pages 864-871, September.
    3. Doyle, Orla & Harmon, Colm P. & Heckman, James J. & Tremblay, Richard E., 2009. "Investing in early human development: Timing and economic efficiency," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 1-6, March.
    4. Heckman, James J., 2007. "The Economics, Technology and Neuroscience of Human Capability Formation," IZA Discussion Papers 2875, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Sen, Amartya, 1999. "Commodities and Capabilities," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195650389.
    6. Björklund Anders & Jäntti Markus & Solon Gary, 2007. "Nature and Nurture in the Intergenerational Transmission of Socioeconomic Status: Evidence from Swedish Children and Their Biological and Rearing Parents," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 7(2), pages 1-23, November.
    7. Sabina Alkire, 2008. "Concepts and Measures of Agency," OPHI Working Papers 9, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Weisensee, Katherine E. & Spradley, M. Katherine, 2018. "Craniofacial asymmetry as a marker of socioeconomic status among undocumented Mexican immigrants in the United States," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 122-127.
    2. Qing Wang & Huyang Zhang & John A. Rizzo & Hai Fang, 2018. "The Effect of Childhood Health Status on Adult Health in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-16, January.
    3. José Antonio Muñoz-Reyes & Marta Iglesias-Julios & Miguel Pita & Enrique Turiegano, 2015. "Facial Features: What Women Perceive as Attractive and What Men Consider Attractive," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    4. Moodie, Joanna E. & Ritchie, Stuart J. & Cox, Simon R. & Harris, Mathew A. & Muñoz Maniega, Susana & Valdés Hernández, Maria C. & Pattie, Alison & Corley, Janie & Bastin, Mark E. & Starr, John M. & Wa, 2020. "Fluctuating asymmetry in brain structure and general intelligence in 73-year-olds," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lundborg, Petter & Stenberg, Anders, 2010. "Nature, nurture and socioeconomic policy--What can we learn from molecular genetics?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 320-330, December.
    2. Alkire, Sabina & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Peterman, Amber & Quisumbing, Agnes & Seymour, Greg & Vaz, Ana, 2013. "The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 71-91.
    3. By Tyas Prevoo & Bas ter Weel, 2015. "The importance of early conscientiousness for socio-economic outcomes: evidence from the British Cohort Study," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 67(4), pages 918-948.
    4. Schultz-Nielsen, Marie Louise & Tekin, Erdal & Greve, Jane, 2016. "Labor market effects of intrauterine exposure to nutritional deficiency: Evidence from administrative data on Muslim immigrants in Denmark," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 196-209.
    5. Orla Doyle & Nick Fitzpatrick & Judy Lovett & Caroline Rawdon, 2015. "Early intervention and child health: Evidence from a Dublin-based randomized controlled trial," Working Papers 201505, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    6. Charlotte Bartels & Maximilian Stockhausen, 2017. "Children's Opportunities in Germany – An Application Using Multidimensional Measures," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 18(3), pages 327-376, August.
    7. Douglas Almond & Bhashkar Mazumder & Reyn Ewijk, 2015. "In Utero Ramadan Exposure and Children's Academic Performance," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(589), pages 1501-1533, December.
    8. Jill Furzer & Elizabeth Dhuey & Audrey Laporte, 2022. "ADHD misdiagnosis: Causes and mitigators," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(9), pages 1926-1953, September.
    9. Caro, Juan Carlos, 2020. "Child development and obesity prevention: evidence from the Chilean School Meals Program," MPRA Paper 98865, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Forsyth, Tim & Evans, Natalie, 2013. "What is autonomous adaption? Resource scarcity and smallholder agency in Thailand," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 45412, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Majid, Muhammad Farhan, 2015. "The persistent effects of in utero nutrition shocks over the life cycle: Evidence from Ramadan fasting," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 48-57.
    12. Pereira, Rita & Biroli, Pietro & von hinke, stephanie & Van Kippersluis, Hans & Galama, Titus & Rietveld, Niels & Thom, Kevin, 2022. "Gene-Environment Interplay in the Social Sciences," OSF Preprints d96z3, Center for Open Science.
    13. Achyuta Adhvaryu & Teresa Molina & Anant Nyshadham & Jorge Tamayo, 2024. "Helping Children Catch Up: Early Life Shocks and the PROGRESA Experiment," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(657), pages 1-22.
    14. Doyle, Orla & Fitzpatrick, Nick & Lovett, Judy & Rawdon, Caroline, 2015. "Early intervention and child physical health: Evidence from a Dublin-based randomized controlled trial," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 224-245.
    15. Liu, Xiaoying & Hannum, Emily, 2017. "Early poverty exposure predicts young adult educational outcomes in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 79-97.
    16. Tania Burchardt & Holly Holder, 2012. "Developing Survey Measures of Inequality of Autonomy in the UK," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 106(1), pages 1-25, March.
    17. Victor, Bart & Fischer, Edward F. & Cooil, Bruce & Vergara, Alfredo & Mukolo, Abraham & Blevins, Meridith, 2013. "Frustrated Freedom: The Effects of Agency and Wealth on Wellbeing in Rural Mozambique," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 30-41.
    18. Lundborg, Petter & Stenberg, Anders, 2009. "Nature, Nurture and Egalitarian Policy: What Can We Learn from Molecular Genetics?," IZA Discussion Papers 4585, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Pelenc, Jérôme & Bazile, Didier & Ceruti, Cristian, 2015. "Collective capability and collective agency for sustainability: A case study," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 226-239.
    20. Bas ter Weel & Tyas Prevoo, 2013. "The Importance of Early Conscientiousness for Socio-Economic Outcomes: Evidence from the British Cohort Study," CPB Discussion Paper 251.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Facial fluctuating asymmetry; Symmetry; Socioeconomic status; Developmental origins;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I0 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:11:y:2013:i:2:p:236-244. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622964 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.