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Maternal Age and Offspring Adult Health: Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study

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  • Mikko Myrskylä
  • Andrew Fenelon

Abstract

Advanced maternal age is associated with negative offspring health outcomes. This interpretation often relies on physiological processes related to aging, such as decreasing oocyte quality. We use a large, population-based sample of American adults to analyze how selection and lifespan overlap between generations influence the maternal age–offspring adult health association. We find that offspring born to mothers younger than age 25 or older than 35 have worse outcomes with respect to mortality, self-rated health, height, obesity, and the number of diagnosed conditions than those born to mothers aged 25–34. Controls for maternal education and age at which the child lost the mother eliminate the effect for advanced maternal age up to age 45. The association between young maternal age and negative offspring outcomes is robust to these controls. Our findings suggest that the advanced maternal age–offspring adult health association reflects selection and factors related to lifespan overlap. These may include shared frailty or parental investment but are not directly related to the physiological health of the mother during conception, fetal development, or birth. The results for young maternal age add to the evidence suggesting that children born to young mothers might be better off if the parents waited a few years. Copyright Population Association of America 2012

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  • Mikko Myrskylä & Andrew Fenelon, 2012. "Maternal Age and Offspring Adult Health: Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 49(4), pages 1231-1257, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:49:y:2012:i:4:p:1231-1257
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-012-0132-x
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    1. Alice Goisis & Daniel C. Schneider & Mikko Myrskylä, 2015. "Secular changes in the association between advanced maternal age and the risk of low birth weight: a cross-cohort comparison in the UK," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2015-010, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    2. Josefine Koebe & Jan Marcus, 2020. "The Impact of the Length of Schooling on the Timing of Family Formation," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1896, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    3. Insu Chang & Heeran Park & Hosung Sohn, 2021. "Causal Impact of School Starting Age on the Tempo of Childbirths: Evidence from Working Mothers and School Entry Cutoff Using Exact Date of Birth," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 37(4), pages 997-1022, November.
    4. Phillips Edomwonyi Obasohan & Stephen J. Walters & Richard Jacques & Khaled Khatab, 2021. "Individual and Contextual Factors Associated with Malaria among Children 6–59 Months in Nigeria: A Multilevel Mixed Effect Logistic Model Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-25, October.
    5. Marcus, Jan, 2022. "The Length of Schooling and the Timing of Family Formation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 68(1), pages 1-45.
    6. Fredriksson, Peter & Huttunen, Kristiina & Öckert, Björn, 2022. "School starting age, maternal age at birth, and child outcomes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    7. Kieron J. Barclay & Mikko Myrskylä, 2016. "Parental age and offspring mortality: negative effects of reproductive aging are outweighed by secular increases in longevity," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2016-011, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    8. Pablo Mitnik & Victoria Bryant & David Grusky, 2018. "A Very Uneven Playing Field: Economic Mobility in the United States," Working Papers 2018-097, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    9. Barclay, Kieron & Keenan, Katherine & Grundy, Emily & Kolk, Martin & Myrskylä, Mikko, 2016. "Reproductive history and post-reproductive mortality: A sibling comparison analysis using Swedish register data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 82-92.
    10. Natalie Nitsche & Hannah Brückner, 2021. "Late, But Not Too Late? Postponement of First Birth Among Highly Educated US Women," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 37(2), pages 371-403, April.
    11. Barclay, Kieron & Myrskylä, Mikko, 2014. "Birth order and physical fitness in early adulthood: Evidence from Swedish military conscription data," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 141-148.
    12. Kieron Barclay & Martin Kolk, 2015. "Birth Order and Mortality: A Population-Based Cohort Study," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(2), pages 613-639, April.
    13. Smith, Ken R. & Hanson, Heidi A. & Norton, Maria C. & Hollingshaus, Michael S. & Mineau, Geraldine P., 2014. "Survival of offspring who experience early parental death: Early life conditions and later-life mortality," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 180-190.
    14. Kazuya Masuda & Chikako Yamauchi, 2017. "The Effects of Female Education on Adolescent Pregnancy and Child Health: Evidence from Uganda fs Universal Primary Education for Fully Treated Cohorts," GRIPS Discussion Papers 17-01, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.
    15. Greg J. Duncan & Kenneth T. H. Lee & Maria Rosales-Rueda & Ariel Kalil, 2018. "Maternal Age and Child Development," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(6), pages 2229-2255, December.
    16. Kieron J. Barclay & Mikko Myrskylä, 2015. "Advanced maternal age and offspring outcomes: causal effects and countervailing period trends," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2015-009, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    17. Myrskylä, Mikko & Elo, Irma T. & Kohler, Iliana V. & Martikainen, Pekka, 2014. "The association between advanced maternal and paternal ages and increased adult mortality is explained by early parental loss," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 215-223.
    18. Adamecz, Anna & Lovász, Anna & Vujic, Suncica, 2024. "Beyond the Degree: Fertility Outcomes of 'First in Family' Graduates," IZA Discussion Papers 17216, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Berchick, Edward R., 2016. "The relationship between maternal education and reported childhood conditions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 170-179.
    20. Nozaki, Yuko & Matsuura, Katsumi, 2020. "The impact of household resources on child behavioral problems," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 282-292.
    21. Barclay, Kieron & Keenan, Katherine & Grundy, Emily & Kolk, Martin & Myrskylä, Mikko, 2016. "Reproductive history and post-reproductive mortality: a sibling comparison analysis using Swedish register data," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 65602, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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