Objectives: We examined how state characteristics in early life are associated with individual chronic disease later in life.
Methods: We assessed early-life state of residence using the first 3 digits of social security numbers from blue- and white-collar workers from a US manufacturing company. Longitudinal data were available from 1997 to 2012, with 305 936 person-years of observation. Disease was assessed using medical claims. We modeled associations using pooled logistic regression with inverse probability of censoring weights.
Results: We found small but statistically significant associations between early-state-of-residence characteristics and later life hypertension, diabetes, and ischemic heart disease. The most consistent associations were with income inequality, percentage non-White, and education. These associations were similar after statistically controlling for individual socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and current state characteristics.
Conclusions: Characteristics of the state in which an individual lives early in life are associated with prevalence of chronic disease later in life, with a strength of association equivalent to genetic associations found for these same health outcomes.