Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Current issue
  • ERJ Early View
  • Past issues
  • Authors/reviewers
    • Instructions for authors
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Open access
    • COVID-19 submission information
    • Peer reviewer login
  • Alerts
  • Podcasts
  • Subscriptions
  • ERS Publications
    • European Respiratory Journal
    • ERJ Open Research
    • European Respiratory Review
    • Breathe
    • ERS Books
    • ERS publications home

User menu

  • Log in
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
  • ERS Publications
    • European Respiratory Journal
    • ERJ Open Research
    • European Respiratory Review
    • Breathe
    • ERS Books
    • ERS publications home

Login

European Respiratory Society

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Current issue
  • ERJ Early View
  • Past issues
  • Authors/reviewers
    • Instructions for authors
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Open access
    • COVID-19 submission information
    • Peer reviewer login
  • Alerts
  • Podcasts
  • Subscriptions

Life-course socioeconomic disadvantage and lung function: a multicohort study of 70 496 individuals

Vânia Rocha, Sílvia Fraga, Carla Moreira, Cristian Carmeli, Alexandra Lenoir, Andrew Steptoe, Graham Giles, Marcel Goldberg, Marie Zins, Mika Kivimäki, Paolo Vineis, Peter Vollenweider, Henrique Barros, Silvia Stringhini for the LIFEPATH Consortium
European Respiratory Journal 2021 57: 2001600; DOI: 10.1183/13993003.01600-2020
Vânia Rocha
1EPIUnit – Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
15These authors contributed equally
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Vânia Rocha
Sílvia Fraga
1EPIUnit – Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
2Departamento de Ciências da Saúde Pública e Forenses, e Educação Médica, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
15These authors contributed equally
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Carla Moreira
1EPIUnit – Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
3Centre of Mathematics, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Cristian Carmeli
4Population Health Laboratory, Dept of Community Health, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Alexandra Lenoir
5Dept of Medicine, Respiratory Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Alexandra Lenoir
Andrew Steptoe
6Dept of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Graham Giles
7Cancer Epidemiology Centre, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Marcel Goldberg
8Population-based Epidemiological Cohorts Unit, INSERM UMS 11, Villejuif, France
9Paris Descartes University, Paris, France
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Marie Zins
8Population-based Epidemiological Cohorts Unit, INSERM UMS 11, Villejuif, France
9Paris Descartes University, Paris, France
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Mika Kivimäki
10Dept of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Mika Kivimäki
Paolo Vineis
11MRC Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Dept of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Imperial College London, London, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Peter Vollenweider
12Dept of Medicine, Internal Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Henrique Barros
1EPIUnit – Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
2Departamento de Ciências da Saúde Pública e Forenses, e Educação Médica, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Henrique Barros
Silvia Stringhini
13Center for Primary Care and Public Health (UNISANTE), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
14Unit of Population Epidemiology, Dept of Primary Care, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Background Lung function is an important predictor of health and a marker of physical functioning at older ages. This study aimed to quantify the years of lung function lost according to disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions across the life-course.

Methods This multicohort study used harmonised individual-level data from six European cohorts with information on life-course socioeconomic disadvantage and lung function assessed by forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC). 70 496 participants (51% female) aged 18–93 years were included. Socioeconomic disadvantage was measured in early life (low paternal occupational position), early adulthood (low educational level) and adulthood (low occupational position). Risk factors for poor lung function (e.g. smoking, obesity, sedentary behaviour, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases) were included as potential mediators. The years of lung function lost due to socioeconomic disadvantage were computed at each life stage.

Results Socioeconomic disadvantage during the life-course was associated with a lower FEV1. By the age of 45 years, individuals experiencing disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions had lost 4–5 years of healthy lung function versus their more advantaged counterparts (low educational level −4.36 (95% CI −7.33–−2.37) for males and −5.14 (−10.32–−2.71) for females; low occupational position −5.62 (−7.98–−4.90) for males and −4.32 (−13.31–−2.27) for females), after accounting for the risk factors for lung function. By the ages of 65 years and 85 years, the years of lung function lost due to socioeconomic disadvantage decreased by 2–4 years, depending on the socioeconomic indicator. Sensitivity analysis using FVC yielded similar results to those using FEV1.

Conclusion Life-course socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with lower lung function and predicts a significant number of years of lung function loss in adulthood and at older ages.

Abstract

This multicohort study of 70 496 individuals from four European countries shows that life-course socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with a lower lung function and is an important predictor of years of lung function loss during adulthood and older ages https://bit.ly/3huxpOX

Footnotes

  • Author contributions: V. Rocha, S. Fraga and S. Stringhini conceived the study. V. Rocha wrote the first and successive drafts of the manuscript. C. Moreira, V. Rocha and C. Carmeli modelled and analysed the data. A. Lenoir, A. Steptoe, G. Giles, M. Goldberg, M. Zins, M. Kivimaki, P. Vineis, P. Vollenweider and H. Barros collected the data. All authors revised the manuscript for important intellectual content.

  • The members of the LIFEPATH Consortium (in alphabetical order): Jan Alberts, Harri Alenius, Mauricio Avendano, Laura Baglietto, Valeria Baltar, Henrique Barros, Mel Bartley, Michele Bellone, Eloise Berger, David Blane, Murielle Bochud, Giulia Candiani, Cristian Carmeli, Luca Carra, Raphaele Castagne, Marc Chadeau-Hyam, Sergio Cima, Giuseppe Costa, Emilie Courtin, Cyrille Delpierre, Angelo D'Errico, Angela Donkin, Pierre-Antoine Dugue, Paul Elliott, Guy Fagherazzi, Giovanni Fiorito, Silvia Fraga, Martina Gandini, Valérie Gares, Pascale Gerbouin-Rerolle, Graham Giles, Marcel Goldberg, Dario Greco, Allison Hodge, Maryam Karimi, Piia Karisola, Michelle Kelly-Irving, Mika Kivimaki, Jessica Laine, Thierry Lang, Audrey Laurent, Richard Layte, Benoit Lepage, Dori Lorsch, Giles Machell, Johan Mackenbach, Michael Marmot, Cathal McCrory, Carlos de Mestral, Cynthia Miller, Roger Milne, Peter Muennig, Wilma Nusselder, Dusan Petrovic, Lourdes Pilapil, Silvia Polidoro, Martin Preisig, Ana Isabel Ribeiro, Fulvio Ricceri, Paolo Recalcati, Erica Reinhard, Oliver Robinson, Jose Rubio Valverde, Severine Saba, Frank Santegoets, Gianluca Severi, Terrence Simmons, Silvia Stringhini, Adam Tabak, Vesa Terhi, Joannie Tieulent, Salvatore Vaccarella, Federica Vigna-Taglianti, Paolo Vineis, Peter Vollenweider, Marie Zins.

  • This article has an editorial commentary: https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.04025-2020

  • This article has supplementary material available from erj.ersjournals.com

  • Conflict of interest: V. Rocha reports grants from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, during the conduct of the study.

  • Conflict of interest: S. Fraga reports grants from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, during the conduct of the study.

  • Conflict of interest: C. Moreira has nothing to disclose.

  • Conflict of interest: C. Carmeli has nothing to disclose.

  • Conflict of interest: A. Lenoir has nothing to disclose.

  • Conflict of interest: A. Steptoe has nothing to disclose.

  • Conflict of interest: G. Giles has nothing to disclose.

  • Conflict of interest: M. Goldberg has nothing to disclose.

  • Conflict of interest: M. Zins has nothing to disclose.

  • Conflict of interest: M. Kivimäki reports grants from Medical Research Council, US National Institute on Aging, NordForsk, the Academy of Finland and Helsinki Institute of Life Science, during the conduct of the study.

  • Conflict of interest: P. Vineis has nothing to disclose.

  • Conflict of interest: P. Vollenweider has nothing to disclose.

  • Conflict of interest: H. Barros has nothing to disclose.

  • Conflict of interest: S. Stringhini reports grants from University of Lausanne, during the conduct of the study.

  • Support statement: This work was supported by European regional development fund through the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalisation and national funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT; Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education) under the EPIUnit, Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto, Portugal (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006862; reference: UID/DTP/04750/2019). It is also supported by the European Commission (Horizon 2020 grant number 633666), PhD grant SFRH/BD/103726/2014 (V. Rocha) co-funded by FCT and the POCH/FSE Program, FCT contract CEECIND/01516/2017/CP1406/CT0001 (S. Fraga), and by the University of Lausanne (Pro-Femmes grant, S. Stringhini). M. Kivimaki was supported by the Medical Research Council (K013351, R024227), the US National Institute on Aging (R01AG056477), NordForsk, the Academy of Finland (311492), and Helsinki Institute of Life Science during the conduct of the study. The CoLaus|PsyCoLaus study is supported by research grants from GlaxoSmithKline, the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of Lausanne, and the Swiss National Science Foundation (grants 3200B0_105993, 3200B0_118308, 33CSCO_122661, 33CS30_139468 and 33CS30_14840). The Constances cohort is supported by the Caisse nationale d'assurance maladie and by a grant from the Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR-11-INBS-0002). Funding information for this article has been deposited with the Crossref Funder Registry.

  • Received May 5, 2020.
  • Accepted September 10, 2020.
  • Copyright ©ERS 2021
https://www.ersjournals.com/user-licence
View Full Text

ERS Members

myERS - ERS members : log in with your myERS username and password.

INDIVIDUALS

Log in Login as an individual user.

Forgot your username or password?

LIBRARY USERS

Log in through your institution

If your library has a subscription, you may already be logged in via your IP address. Otherwise you may be able to log in via one of the following routes.
You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your library if you do not have a username and password.
If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.
If you think you should have access, please contact your librarian or email journals@ersnet.org

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
PreviousNext
Back to top
View this article with LENS
Vol 57 Issue 3 Table of Contents
European Respiratory Journal: 57 (3)
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on European Respiratory Society .

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Life-course socioeconomic disadvantage and lung function: a multicohort study of 70 496 individuals
(Your Name) has sent you a message from European Respiratory Society
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the European Respiratory Society web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Print
Citation Tools
Life-course socioeconomic disadvantage and lung function: a multicohort study of 70 496 individuals
Vânia Rocha, Sílvia Fraga, Carla Moreira, Cristian Carmeli, Alexandra Lenoir, Andrew Steptoe, Graham Giles, Marcel Goldberg, Marie Zins, Mika Kivimäki, Paolo Vineis, Peter Vollenweider, Henrique Barros, Silvia Stringhini
European Respiratory Journal Mar 2021, 57 (3) 2001600; DOI: 10.1183/13993003.01600-2020

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero

Share
Life-course socioeconomic disadvantage and lung function: a multicohort study of 70 496 individuals
Vânia Rocha, Sílvia Fraga, Carla Moreira, Cristian Carmeli, Alexandra Lenoir, Andrew Steptoe, Graham Giles, Marcel Goldberg, Marie Zins, Mika Kivimäki, Paolo Vineis, Peter Vollenweider, Henrique Barros, Silvia Stringhini
European Respiratory Journal Mar 2021, 57 (3) 2001600; DOI: 10.1183/13993003.01600-2020
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Technorati logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Connotea logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Full Text (PDF)

Jump To

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Abstract
    • Introduction
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Supplementary material
    • Shareable PDF
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Subjects

  • COPD and smoking
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

More in this TOC Section

Original Articles

  • Ambulatory management of secondary spontaneous pneumothorax
  • Systematic assessment of respiratory health in illness susceptible athletes
  • Identifying early PAH biomarkers in systemic sclerosis
Show more Original Articles

Airways disease

  • Interferon-inducible signature of airway disease from blood gene expression profiling
  • Chronic bronchitis and risk factors in young adults
Show more Airways disease

Related Articles

Navigate

  • Home
  • Current issue
  • Archive

About the ERJ

  • Journal information
  • Editorial board
  • Reviewers
  • Press
  • Permissions and reprints
  • Advertising

The European Respiratory Society

  • Society home
  • myERS
  • Privacy policy
  • Accessibility

ERS publications

  • European Respiratory Journal
  • ERJ Open Research
  • European Respiratory Review
  • Breathe
  • ERS books online
  • ERS Bookshop

Help

  • Feedback

For authors

  • Instructions for authors
  • Publication ethics and malpractice
  • Submit a manuscript

For readers

  • Alerts
  • Subjects
  • Podcasts
  • RSS

Subscriptions

  • Accessing the ERS publications

Contact us

European Respiratory Society
442 Glossop Road
Sheffield S10 2PX
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 114 2672860
Email: journals@ersnet.org

ISSN

Print ISSN:  0903-1936
Online ISSN: 1399-3003

Copyright © 2022 by the European Respiratory Society