ReviewJournal of multimorbidity and comorbidity
Childhood socioeconomic disadvantage and adult multimorbidity: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Journal of multimorbidity and comorbidity. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Childhood adversity and disadvantage in relation to incident disability and multimorbidity: prospective analyses of ELSA and two SHARE inception samples.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Childhood socioeconomic disadvantage is linked to individual chronic diseases in adulthood, but its relationship with multimorbidity remains unclear. Understanding this is crucial for informing prevention strategies and the economic case for investment. This review and meta-analysis evaluated the association between childhood disadvantage and adult multimorbidity. Methods: Following pre-registration (PROSPERO: CRD42024588657), we searched MEDLINE, SocIndex, ASSIA, and ProQuest Public Health to March 2025 for studies assessing childhood socioeconomic circumstances (SECs) and adult multimorbidity (≥2 chronic conditions). Risk of bias was assessed using ROBINS-E and evidence certainty using GRADE. Random-effects meta-analysis and synthesis without meta-analysis (SWiM) were conducted. Subgroup analyses explored heterogeneity by region, design, and exposure type. Results: From 5,617 records, 10 studies met inclusion criteria. Most were cross-sectional, using retrospective reports of exposure and self-reported outcomes. Exposures included perceived childhood economic adversity (n=6), parental education (n=4), parental occupation (n=1), and composite measures (n=3). Meta-analyses found no clear associations for perceived adversity (OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.87-1.23; I Conclusions: Evidence for an association between childhood socioeconomic disadvantage and adult multimorbidity is limited and uncertain. Findings suggest possible harmful effects but remain constrained by methodological weaknesses and heterogeneity. High-quality longitudinal studies with standardised multimorbidity definitions are needed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.