Intergenerational Social Mobility and Allostatic Load in Midlife and Older Ages: A Diagonal Reference Modeling Approach

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to understand the association of life-course intergenerational social mobility with allostatic load (AL) burden in midlife and older ages in Ireland. METHODS: The study involved biological data for 3,987 older adults participating in The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). Intergenerational social mobility was characterized using the cross-classification of origin socioeconomic position (SEP; i.e., father’s occupation) and destination SEP (i.e., own occupation). AL was operationalized using 12 biomarkers tapping cardiovascular, metabolic, renal, and immune system dysregulation. Diagonal reference modeling (DRM) and ordinary least square regression techniques were applied to explore the effect of social mobility on AL burden. RESULTS: A total of 55.5% experienced intergenerational mobility: 37.5% were upwardly mobile, 18.0% were downwardly mobile. A social gradient in AL was observed among the socially non-mobile. Destination SEP (b = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.57, 0.92) predominated in influence over origin, although both life stages exerted significant influence on later-life AL. Social mobility in either direction was not associated with AL burden. Mobility coefficients were substantially small across a large variety of model specifications. DISCUSSION: Findings provide evidence for an accumulation model of social inequalities in which disparities in health are diluted rather than increased by social mobility (i.e., gradient constraint), with the socially mobile having an AL score that is intermediate between their origin class and destination class. This implies that the effects of origin SEP on health are not immutable, but are instead responsive to changing socioeconomic circumstances across the life course.