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Background: A large literature demonstrates associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and health, including physiological health and well-being. Moreover, gender differences are often observed among measures of both SES and health. However, relationships between SES and health are sometimes questioned given the lack of true experiments, and the potential biological and SES mechanisms explaining gender differences in health are rarely examined simultaneously.Purpose: To use a national sample of twins to investigate lifetime socioeconomic adversity and a measure of physiological dysregulation separately by sex.Methods: Using the twin sample in the second wave of the Midlife in the United States survey (MIDUS II), biometric regression analysis was conducted to determine whether the established SES-physiological health association is observed among twins both before and after adjusting for potential familial-level confounds (additive genetic and shared environmental influences that may underly the SES-health link), and whether this association differs among men and women.Results: Although individuals with less socioeconomic adversity over the lifespan exhibited less physiological dysregulation among this sample of twins, this association only persisted among male twins after adjusting for familial influences.Conclusions: Findings from the present study suggest that, particularly for men, links between socioeconomic adversity and health are not spurious or better explained by additive genetic or early shared environmental influences. Furthermore, gender-specific role demands may create differential associations between SES and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Education and cognition are closely associated, yet the role of spousal education is not well understood. We estimate the independent effects of own and spousal education on cognitive ability in late-life in Mexico, a developing country experiencing rapid aging. Method We analyzed 4,017 married dyads (age 50+) from the 2012 Mexican Health and Aging Study. Cognitive ability for married adults was a factor score from a single factor model. Using seemingly unrelated regression, we test whether spousal education influences older adults' cognitive ability, whether associations are explained by couple-level socioeconomic position, health and health behaviors, and social support, and whether associations differed by gender. Results Education and cognitive ability were correlated within couples. Higher spousal education was associated with better cognitive ability. Associations between spousal education and cognitive ability were independent of own education, did not differ by gender, and remained significant even after adjustment for couple-level socioeconomic position, health and health behaviors, and perceived social support. Discussion In addition to own education, spousal education was associated with better cognitive ability, even at relatively low levels of education. We discuss the possibility that spousal education may improve cognition via transmission of knowledge and mutually reinforcing cognitively stimulating environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]