%0 Journal Article %J J Aging Health %D 2013 %T Weight status in adolescence is associated with later life functional limitations. %A Vasunilashorn, Sarinnapha %A Martinson, Melissa L %K Activities of Daily Living %K Adolescent %K Aging %K Body Mass Index %K Body Weight %K Female %K Humans %K Longitudinal Studies %K Male %K Middle Aged %K Mobility Limitation %K Risk Factors %K Sex Factors %K Wisconsin %X

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the relationship between weight status in adolescence and later life functional limitations.

METHOD: We use the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study to characterize the relationship between standardized relative body mass ascertained from high school photograph portraits in 1957 and self-reported functional imitations in 2004.

RESULTS: Compared to individuals with normal body mass, those who were overweight in high school had poorer later life physical function, with observed gender differences. Women who were underweight in adolescence had better functioning in older adulthood than their normal weight counterparts. This relationship, however, was not found among men.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings underscore the long-term consequences of being overweight in adolescence on the functional disadvantages conferred in late life.

%B J Aging Health %V 25 %P 758-75 %8 2013 Aug %G eng %N 5 %R 10.1177/0898264313491426 %0 Journal Article %J Am J Public Health %D 2012 %T Income inequality in health at all ages: a comparison of the United States and England. %A Martinson, Melissa L %K Adolescent %K Adult %K Aged %K Aged, 80 and over %K Body Mass Index %K Child %K Child, Preschool %K Continental Population Groups %K England %K Female %K Health Status %K Health Status Disparities %K Humans %K Income %K Male %K Middle Aged %K Nutrition Surveys %K Risk Factors %K Sex Factors %K United States %K Young Adult %X

OBJECTIVES: I systematically examined income gradients in health in the United States and England across the life span (ages birth to 80 years), separately for females and males, for a number of health conditions.

METHODS: Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for the United States (n = 36 360) and the Health Survey for England (n = 55 783), I calculated weighted prevalence rates and risk ratios by income level for the following health risk factors or conditions: obesity, hypertension, diabetes, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high cholesterol ratio, heart attack or angina, stroke, and asthma.

RESULTS: In the United States and England, the income gradients in health are very similar across age, gender, and numerous health conditions, and are robust to adjustments for race/ethnicity, health behaviors, body mass index, and health insurance.

CONCLUSIONS: Health disparities by income are pervasive in England as well as in the United States, despite better overall health, universal health insurance, and more generous social protection spending in England.

%B Am J Public Health %V 102 %P 2049-56 %8 2012 Nov %G eng %N 11 %R 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300929 %0 Journal Article %J Soc Sci Med %D 2012 %T The influence of stress and social support on depressive symptoms in mothers with young children. %A Manuel, Jennifer I %A Martinson, Melissa L %A Bledsoe-Mansori, Sarah E %A Bellamy, Jennifer L %K Child, Preschool %K Depression %K Female %K Follow-Up Studies %K Humans %K Infant %K Mothers %K Poverty %K Risk Factors %K Social Support %K Stress, Psychological %K United States %K Urban Health %X

Limited research has examined the associations of stress, social support, and depression among mothers with young children over time. Longitudinal studies are needed to identify risk and protective factors for maternal depression given that depression can be cyclical and may affect women through the early years of their children's development. This study examined the relationships among stress, social support, and depressive symptoms in a national sample of low-income urban American women with young children. A secondary data analysis of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a national longitudinal panel study of nearly 5000 births across 20 cities with populations of 200,000 or more in the United States, was conducted. The analytic sample included all mothers (N = 3675) who completed assessments at baseline through year 5 of the study between 1998 and 2005. Multivariate models using generalized estimating equations were used to estimate the probability of being depressed as a function of stress-related risk factors, social support factors, and sociodemographic variables. The rate of depression each year ranged from 15% to 21%. The results suggest that stress related to economic hardship, parenting, and poor physical health increases the risk of depression among low-income urban mothers with young children. Instrumental and partner support were found to be potential protective factors in reducing the negative effects of stress, but only to a certain degree. Future efforts are needed to strengthen social support and mitigate chronic stressors that contribute to mental health problems in low-income communities.

%B Soc Sci Med %V 75 %P 2013-20 %8 2012 Dec %G eng %N 11 %R 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.07.034 %0 Journal Article %J Ann Am Acad Pol Soc Sci %D 2012 %T Race/Ethnic and Nativity Disparities in Child Overweight in the United States and England. %A Martinson, Melissa L %A McLanahan, Sara %A Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne %X

Child overweight is a growing problem in wealthy countries. There is also evidence that child overweight varies by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. In this article, the authors use data from two recent birth cohort studies in the United States and England to address four questions: (1) Are race/ethnic and immigrant status associated with child overweight? (2) Is the association between socioeconomic status and child overweight similar across race/ethnic and nativity subgroups? (3) Does the age of immigrant mothers at migration moderate the association between immigrant status and child overweight? and (4) Does maternal obesity mediate the association between race/ethnicity and nativity and child overweight? Findings indicate that (1) race/ethnicity and immigrant status are risk factors for child overweight in both countries, (2) the influence of socioeconomic status differs by subgroup, (3) mother's age at migration does not moderate the association, and (4) mother's obesity mediates some of the race/ethnic disparities in child overweight.

%B Ann Am Acad Pol Soc Sci %V 643 %P 219-238 %8 2012 Sep %G eng %N 1 %R 10.1177/0002716212445750 %0 Journal Article %J Am J Epidemiol %D 2011 %T Health across the life span in the United States and England. %A Martinson, Melissa L %A Teitler, Julien O %A Reichman, Nancy E %K Adolescent %K Adult %K Age Distribution %K Aged %K Aged, 80 and over %K Asthma %K Biomarkers %K Body Mass Index %K Cardiovascular Diseases %K Child %K Child, Preschool %K Chronic Disease %K Cross-Cultural Comparison %K Diabetes Mellitus %K England %K Female %K Health Surveys %K Humans %K Infant %K Infant, Newborn %K Life Expectancy %K Lipids %K Male %K Middle Aged %K Sex Distribution %K United States %K Young Adult %X

This study systematically compared health indicators in the United States and England from childhood through old age (ages 0-80 years). Data were from the 1999-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for the United States (n = 39,849) and the 2003-2006 Health Survey for England (n = 69,084). Individuals in the United States have higher rates of most chronic diseases and markers of disease than their same-age counterparts in England. Differences at young ages are as large as those at older ages for most conditions, including obesity, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high cholesterol ratio, high C-reactive protein, hypertension (for females), diabetes, asthma, heart attack or angina (for females), and stroke (for females). For males, heart attack or angina is higher in the United States only at younger ages, and hypertension is higher in England than in the United States at young ages. The patterns were similar when the sample was restricted to whites, the insured, nonobese, nonsmoking nondrinkers, and specific income categories and when stratified by normal weight, overweight, and obese weight categories. The findings from this study indicate that US health disadvantages compared with England arise at early ages and that differences in the body weight distributions of the 2 countries do not play a clear role.

%B Am J Epidemiol %V 173 %P 858-65 %8 2011 Apr 15 %G eng %N 8 %R 10.1093/aje/kwq325