Does childhood disadvantage lead to poorer health in second generation Irish people living in Britain?

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Second generation Irish people living in Britain die earlier and have poorer mental and physical health than non-Irish people, despite improvements in social class over generations. They are Britain’s largest minority group, yet little is known about their early life experiences which might lead to poor health in adulthood. How far is the experience of growing up as second-generation Irish in Britain protective or harmful for adult health? Are second-generation Irish people more upwardly socially-mobile, and if so, is this less health-protective for them when compared to non-Irish people? Records spanning the lives of 17,000 babies born in a single week in 1958 and 1970, will be analysed. Early life risk factors predisposing to adult psychological illness, chronic illness, alcohol misuse, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and smoking, will be analysed and compared between second-generation Irish and non-Irish people. This will hopefully provide insights into how Irish people differ in their early life chances compared with non-Irish British people, and how this might predispose to poorer adult health. The findings will possibly be of use to health and welfare agencies and potentially contribute to the development of early interventions supporting second-generation Irish and other migrant groups growing up in Britain.