Abstract
ObjectiveThe world population is aging rapidly and the well-being of older people is of great interest. Therefore, this study investigates the determinants of life satisfaction among the oldest-old (i.e. individuals aged 80 or over) in China.Materials and methodsWe use the 2011/2012 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey data (n = 6530) for this paper. Logistic regression is used to analyse the effects of socio-demographic, economic, health, instrumental activities of daily living, family and community factors on life satisfaction and depression among the oldest-old in China.ResultsOur analysis confirms the significance of many factors affecting life satisfaction among the oldest-old in China. Factors that are correlated with life satisfaction include respondent’s sex, education, place of residence, self-rated health status, cognitive ability (using mini mental state examination), regular physical examination, perceived relative economic status, access to social security provisions, commercialized insurances, living arrangements, and number of social services available in the community (p<0.05 for all these variables). Although life satisfaction is negatively associated with instrumental activities of daily living (β = -0.068, 95%CI = -.093—.043), and depression (β = -0.463, 95%CI = -.644—.282), the overall effect of self-rated health status is positive (p<0.001). This confirms the primacy of health as the determinant of well-being among the oldest-old.ConclusionsMajority of the oldest-old in China rated their life satisfaction as good or very good. Our findings show that health and economic status are by far the most significant predictors of life satisfaction. Our finding on the primacy of health and relative income as determinants of well-being among the oldest-old, and the greater influence of self-rated health status over objective health measures is consistent with the findings of many past studies. Our results suggest that efforts should be directed at enhancing family support as well as health and social service provisions in the community to improve life satisfaction of older people.
Highlights
Asia is home to 57 percent of the estimated 900 million persons aged 60 years and older in the world, and the well-being of older people in this continent is gaining increasing attention among policy makers and researchers
Life satisfaction is negatively associated with instrumental activities of daily living (β = -0.068, 95%CI = -.093—.043), and depression (β = -0.463, 95%CI = -.644—.282), the overall effect of self-rated health status is positive (p
Our findings show that health and economic status are by far the most significant predictors of life satisfaction
Summary
Asia is home to 57 percent of the estimated 900 million persons aged 60 years and older in the world, and the well-being of older people in this continent is gaining increasing attention among policy makers and researchers. There are about 210 million older adults in China, where the proportion aged 60 years and over has doubled from 7.5% in 1975 to about 15% today. The older population of China is aging rapidly, and there are about 23 million persons aged 80 years and over. The changing demographic structure of China has created new challenges to improve the well-being of individuals of different age groups. Market reforms in the 1990s along with the abolishment of the decades-old welfare system have created new inequalities between rural and urban residents and raised concerns about the welfare of socially vulnerable groups such as the oldest-old. The well-being of the oldest-old, whose number is growing rapidly, deserves greater attention
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