Abstract
BackgroundWhile life expectancy increases, it is necessary to evaluate whether the additional years are lived in good health, particularly in order to adapt the health care provision and social measures available to support these individuals. Since the 1990s, improvements in perceived health and capacities have been observed among older people, however the changes appear to be far less favourable among the working-age population and, in particular, the generation of people approaching retirement age. The aim of this study was to examine the change in the perceived health status of those aged 55 to 65 in France and investigate the role of socioeconomic factors in this change.MethodsSelf-reported health (SRH), chronic condition and activity limitation were assessed in 2010 and in 2017 in the French Health Barometer, a general population phone survey conducted on over 25,000 persons living in the community. The prevalence of all three indicators in 2017, and their evolution between 2010 and 2017 were studied according to the main socioeconomic determinants.ResultsBetween 2010 and 2017, there was a sharp increase in the proportion of individuals aged 55–65 reporting poor SRH, chronic condition or activity limitation. A much more marked deterioration was observed in the three indicators among those aged 55–65 than in older age groups, as well as different changes according to socioeconomic determinants. The category of workers with an average level of education was particularly affected by the deterioration.ConclusionsThis study confirms that the generation approaching retirement age presents a more significant deterioration in health status than those of previous generations. The question of how these trends will be reflected in terms of the burden of dependency at later ages remains open and should encourage increased monitoring of and prevention among this population in future years.
Highlights
While life expectancy increases, it is necessary to evaluate whether the additional years are lived in good health, in order to adapt the health care provision and social measures available to support these individuals
As the objective of the study was to investigate changes in people’s perceived health at the time of retirement, the present analyses primarily focused on those aged 55 to 65
In 2017, half of those aged 55–65 reported that they had a chronic condition, 35% reported poor Self-reported health (SRH) and 29% felt that they were limited in activities people usually do (Table 1)
Summary
It is necessary to evaluate whether the additional years are lived in good health, in order to adapt the health care provision and social measures available to support these individuals. In the current context of a strong increase in the proportion of older people in the population due to the combined effect of the ageing of numerous baby boom generations and an increase in life expectancy, it is essential to be able to anticipate the burden of disability and, more generally, ill health, in order to adapt the health care provision and social measures available to support these individuals. Despite the increase in the burden of chronic conditions due to population ageing, an improvement can be seen in disability levels among older people [1,2,3] These trends reflect the improvement in the diagnosis and care of certain disabling illnesses and a reduction in mortality. There have been very few studies on the change in health status and functioning in this population but they suggest that there has been no improvement, or even that there has been a deterioration in their health status in comparison with previous generations [1]
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