B3-4 Life-course income trajectories of men and women in Norway: implications for self-rated health in later life

Redistributive policies are important for absolute and relative deprivation and interact with an individual accumulation of resources and vulnerabilities in promoting late-life health and wellbeing.

Background: Socioeconomic inequalities in health are well established, but studies addressing lagged effects of income or of fluctuations in income over the life course are relatively rare. The current study aims to: (a) identify and describe life course income trajectories for men and women who are currently in later life; and (b) assess the association of income trajectories with self-rated health in older adults.

Methods: The study sample consisted of 1625 men and 1634 women born between 1937 and 1955 who participated in the third wave of the Norwegian Life Course, Ageing and Generation Study. Latent class growth analyses were used to estimate dominant income trajectories from ages 30 to 62 years in men and women. Stepwise logistic regression analyses were specified to analyse the association of income trajectories with self-rated health in later life.

Results: Four trajectories in women and three trajectories in men were estimated as dominant patterns of income over the life course. Differences in level of income were considerable at age 30 years and accumulated over time. Continued exposure to low income showed statistically significant higher odds of poor self- rated health in older men and women. This association
remained significant after taking differences in educational attainment, working life, family formation and accumulated wealth into account.

Conclusions: The findings suggested remarkable rigidity in income groups that had formed by age 30 years. A significant share of men and women remain mired in relatively low-income status across the life course, with negative implications for health in later life.