Is the Health of Older Americans With a GED Equivalent to Their Peers With a High School Diploma?

Esme Fuller-Thomson; Robin Grossman; Andie MacNeil

doi:10.1177/00914150231208685

Is the Health of Older Americans With a GED Equivalent to Their Peers With a High School Diploma?

Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2023 Oct 24:914150231208685. doi: 10.1177/00914150231208685. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Esme Fuller-Thomson^{1

2

3}, Robin Grossman^{1

2}, Andie MacNeil^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
² Institute for Life Course and Aging, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
³ Department of Family and Community Medicine & Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

PMID: 37876216
DOI: 10.1177/00914150231208685

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify differences in the prevalence and odds of cognitive impairment, hearing impairment, vision impairment, limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs), and ambulation limitations among three groups of older American adults: high school dropouts, General Educational Development (GED) recipients, and high school graduates. This study used secondary analysis of the nationally representative 2017 American Community Survey. The sample included 20,489 GED recipients, 154,892 high school graduates, and 49,912 high school dropouts. Our findings indicate that there is a gradient in health outcomes among older Americans, with the highest prevalence and odds of cognitive impairment, hearing impairment, vision impairment, ADL limitations, and ambulation limitations among high school dropouts, followed by GED recipients, and the lowest among high school graduates. Although GED recipients have better health outcomes than high school dropouts, there is still a significant disparity in health status between GED recipients and high school graduates.

Keywords: activities of daily living (ADLs); cognition; disability; health; ‌General Educational Development (GED).