The papers submitted to the session 03-17 included a large number of outstanding papers. There were 4 papers that focused on a very important theme that has for long been in the focus of population health research: what is the mechanism through which adverse socio-economic conditions influence ageing and health? These paper (1899, 2186, 4095, 5545), however, all address this important question with an innovative approach that focuses in particular on how *early life* socioeconomic adversity influences later-life health, and whether this effect is direct, or mediated by own later-life socioeconomic position. While these papers are all excellent, and they fit perfectly with the session theme, I was not able to accept them because of lack of space. Therefore I am proposing an additional session for this set of papers. These excellent papers cover a broad geographical area (Korea, Europe, U.S.), several important adult- and old-age health outcomes (cognitive functioning, obesity, health behaviors, and various indicators of successful ageing), and most importantly, they all analyze the pathway through which early life socioeconomic adversity is linked to these health outcomes. These excellent papers would deserve an oral presentation, and they form a consistent session that focuses on an important population health question that has strong policy implications. Therefore I strongly suggest that an additional session is granted for these papers.