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Background: Adolescent mental health difficulties are increasing over time. However, it is not known whether their adulthood health and socio-economic sequelae are changing over time. Methods: Participants (N = 31 349) are from two prospective national birth cohort studies: 1958 National Child Development Study (n = 16 091) and the 1970 British Cohort Study (n = 15 258). Adolescent mental health was operationalised both as traditional internalising and externalising factors and a hierarchical bi-factor. Associations between adolescent psychopathology and age 42 health and wellbeing (mental health, general health, life satisfaction), social (cohabitation, voting behaviour) and economic (education and employment) outcomes are estimated using linear and logistic multivariable regressions across cohorts, controlling for a wide range of early life potential confounding factors. Results: The prevalence of adolescent mental health difficulties increased and their associations with midlife health, wellbeing, social and economic outcomes became more severe or remained similar between those born in 1958 and 1970. For instance, a stronger association with adolescent mental health difficulties was found for those born in 1970 for midlife psychological distress [odds ratio (OR) 1970 = 1.82 (1.65–1.99), OR 1958 = 1.60 (1.43–1.79)], cohabitation [OR 1970 = 0.64 (0.59–0.70), OR 1958 = 0.79 (0.72–0.87)], and professional occupations [OR 1970 = 0.75 (0.67–0.84), OR 1958 = 1.05 (0.88–1.24)]. The associations of externalising symptoms with later outcomes were mainly explained by their shared variance with internalising symptoms. Conclusion: The widening of mental health-based inequalities in midlife outcomes further supports the need to recognise that secular increases in adolescent mental health symptoms is a public health challenge with measurable negative consequences through the life-course. Increased public health efforts to minimise adverse outcomes are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Attending private school or a higher-status university is thought to benefit future earnings and occupational opportunities. We examined whether these measures were beneficially related to health and selected health-related behaviours in midlife.Methods: Data were from up to 9799 participants from the 1970 British birth Cohort Study. The high school attended (private, grammar or state) was ascertained at 16 years, and the university attended reported at 42 years [categorised as either higher (Russell Group) or normal-status institutions]. Self-reported health, limiting illness and body mass index (BMI) were reported at 42 years, along with television viewing, take-away meal consumption, physical inactivity, smoking and high risk alcohol drinking. Associations were examined using multiple regression models, adjusted for gender and childhood socioeconomic, health and cognitive measures.Results: Private school and higher status university attendance were associated with favourable self-rated health and lower BMI, and beneficially associated with health-related-behaviours. For example, private school attendance was associated with 0.56 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.48, 0.65] odds of lower self-rated health [odds ratio (OR) for higher-status university: 0.32 (0.27, 0.37)]. Associations were largely attenuated by adjustment for potential confounders, except for those of private schooling and higher-status university attendance with lower BMI and television viewing, and less frequent take-away meal consumption.Conclusions: Private school and higher-status university attendance were related to better self-rated health, lower BMI and multiple favourable health behaviours in midlife. Findings suggest that type or status of education may be an important under-researched construct to consider when documenting and understanding socioeconomic inequalities in health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]