Younger Americans’ Health Disparity Gets Worse

According to a new study titled Variance Function Regression in Hierarchical Age-Period-Cohort Models - Applications to the Study of Self-Reported Health, the gap between the least and the most healthy is widening for Americans born after 1980. While the baby boom generation has consistently reported better health than any other generation, today’s young adults are expected to be less healthy as they age. According to Ohio State University researcher Hui Zheng, today’s young adults are projected to experience growing health disparities in their lifetimes. “As young people today reach middle age and preceding cohorts with a smaller health gap die off, we expect health disparities in the whole population to grow even larger,” said Zheng. The Ohio State study used data from the National Health Interview Survey from 1984-2007 to investigate how the health gap varies by age and cohort.

According to Zheng, indicators of health have been on the decline for more than decade, despite advances in medicine and technology. Future research is necessary to pinpoint factors contributing to the increased health gap among younger generations and to identify potential solutions.

Read more on the Kaiser Family Foundation website. Read the study (pdf).

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