Teenage disadvantage linked to higher death risk by midlife
An observational study of 18,921 adolescents linked poorer family circumstances and neighbourhood disadvantage to higher death risk over 29 years.
The Journals of Gerontology, Series B
Researchers studied 18,921 adolescents aged 12–19 in a nationally representative observational cohort. They used surveys and linked information on neighbourhood conditions from 1994–1995, then tracked deaths through the end of 2023.
The analysis linked lower family social and economic standing and greater neighbourhood disadvantage to higher risk of death from any cause through middle age. These links weakened when researchers accounted for family and neighbourhood conditions together. They weakened further after researchers accounted for individual factors in adolescent development, particularly thinking skills and expectations about education.
Why it matters
The study addresses whether early-life social conditions have lasting relevance to survival as people reach middle age.
Caveats
This observational study cannot show that adolescent disadvantage caused earlier deaths. Follow-up reached middle age, not old age.
The paper
Family and neighborhood environments in adolescence and subsequent mortality
University of Nevada · University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The Journals of Gerontology, Series B · 1 Oct 2026
