ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Int. J. Public Health
Whose education matters for later-life health trajectories? A three-generation comparison in China
- TG
Tingshuai Ge
- QH
Qing Han
School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
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Abstract
Objectives: This study examined the effects of own, parental, spousal, and children's education on later-life health trajectories in the Chinese context, exploring variations across health measures and genders in these processes. Methods: Hierarchical linear regression models were employed to the data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study over the period 2011-2020 (N = 15,304 individuals aged 45-85; N = 62,836 person-years). Results: Among men, mental health disparities by own education remained stable with age, while those linked to spousal and children's education widened. For physical health, disparities by own education were stable, whereas those related to children's education diminished with age. Among women, mental health disparities tied to own and family members' education widened with age. Physical health disparities driven by own and children's education increased with age, while those associated with spousal education remained stable. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that family members' education differentially shapes later-life health trajectories, with these processes being sensitive to health measures and gender. Policies that enhance women's education and support disadvantaged families and are essential to reduce health inequalities among aging populations.
Summary
Keywords
China, education, gender differences, health inequality, Later life
Received
07 November 2025
Accepted
06 May 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Ge and Han. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Tingshuai Ge, tingshuaige@xjtu.edu.cn
Disclaimer
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