Early Adult Socioeconomic Paths Create Health Inequality by Age 24

New research reveals that the socioeconomic trajectory young adults follow significantly impacts their heart and metabolic health.

The research, published in Social Science and Medicine, investigated how socioeconomic paths taken during early adulthood (ages 16-24) contribute to inequalities in cardiometabolic health, with those in consistent part-time employment showing the least healthy profile.  

Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), the study identified four distinct socioeconomic trajectories: 

• Higher education (41%): Participants who largely remained in education until around 21, often achieving university degrees and then entering full-time employment 
• Extended education (9%): Remained in full-time education until the age of 24. 
• Early employment (29%): Those who completed full-time education around the age of 18 and entered full-time employment 
• Part-time employment (21%): Mostly finished education by around age 21 but were more likely to remain in part-time employment across early adulthood.  

The analysis, led by Dr Eleanor Winpenny from the Mohn Centre for Children’s Health and Wellbeing in the School of Public Health, found that those who were in the part-time employment or early employment groups demonstrated a worse cardiometabolic profile. Demonstrating evidence of higher risk for cardiovascular disease later in life compared to those in the higher education and extended education groups.

The differences between the various trajectories were clearer among the male participants. The part-time employment class showed signs of higher risk indicators such as higher body fat percentage, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate and insulin resistance (a measure of metabolic health).

Dr Eleanor Winpenny, Assistant Professor in Early Life Epidemiology and lead author said: “More than a fifth of our population were in a group who, although they had finished education, did not enter full-time employment by age 24. This group showed the poorest cardiometabolic health of our four trajectory groups, so it is definitely a group that we need to investigate further to understand the mechanisms underlying this finding.”

This new research highlights the rapid accumulation of cardiovascular inequalities related to socioeconomic experience during young adulthood. This period, between ages 16 and 24, is a critical time for social and economic transition which has a significant impact on cardiometabolic health.

The researchers highlight a need for further research on the exposures and mechanisms contributing to cardiometabolic health during early adulthood, with a particular need for further research on the part-time employment trajectory.