Abstract
Early-life conditions are associated with mortality in men, but not studied to the same extent in women. We add new evidence by studying a cohort of women born between 1916 and 1931 and followed for mortality between 1986 and 2013. Our sample from Iowa includes a significant number of rural women, from both farms and small towns. The long-term effects of growing up in a rural area were mixed: farmers’ daughters lived longer than women growing up off-farm in rural areas. Daughters of farm laborers and skilled or semiskilled trades workers fared worst, when considering early-life socioeconomic status. We also find evidence that migrating to small-town Iowa was associated with lower life expectancy after age fifty-five. Considering social class and farm-nonfarm status is important for understanding the health of rural America.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 106-124 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | RSF |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 1 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022 Russell Sage Foundation. Roberts, Evan, Wendy Rahn, and DeAnn Lazovich. 2022.
Keywords
- early-life conditions
- longitudinal studies
- migration
- mortality
- rural populations