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Title: Do the effects of major risk factors for mortality rise or fall with age?

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2018

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Abstract: Whether the effect of a risk factor on mortality rises or falls with age has important relevancies to life-course theory and public health policy. Many studies report that the hazard ratio of dying associated with a risk factor declines over age. Risk factors found to conform to this pattern include those that are socioeconomic, behavioral, and physiological in nature. In this paper, we show that the putative declining effect of a risk factor over age is a function of interpreting an interaction between a risk factor and age on a multiplicative scale. Drawing from well-known principles on statistical interaction, we show that interpretations on the additive scale often lead to different set of conclusions about the nature of the interaction. Namely, we show that on an additive scale the excess death risks posed by many major risk factors tends to increase with age. Studies have not generally recognized this additive interpretation. We discuss how the prevailing pattern of increasing susceptibilities by age has critical underpinnings for cumulative disadvantage processes and public health interventions. Data from the U.S. National Health Interview Survey were used to provide empirical support.

Url: https://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/pubs/pdf/rr18-888.pdf

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Authors: Mehta, Neil, K; Zheng, Hui

Publisher: Population Studies Center University of Michigan

Data Collections: IPUMS Health Surveys - NHIS

Topics: Health

Countries: United States