Differences In Population Aging Research Articles

Regional differences in population ageing and death rate due to COVID-19 in Bulgaria

Regional differences in population ageing and death rate due to COVID-19 in Bulgaria

Regional differences in Bulgarian population ageing

Abstract Background Europeans are living longer than ever, and the age profile of society is rapidly changing. Despite the observed improvement in public health in the European region, for many people old age is accompanied by a high risk of social exclusion and poverty, limited access to quality health and social services, especially in countries with economies in transition. This poses serious challenges for individuals and society. This report aims to analyse the basic regional differences of ageing in Bulgaria. Methods Information from the World Bank Open Data was used to calculate the basic indicators: proportion of people 65+ and ageing index for selected European countries. To estimate the rate of change, the growth of ageing index (in %) was calculated on a constant basis in 1970. The regional differences of ageing for Bulgarian population were analysed based on the National Statistical Institute data. The absolute numbers for regions were regrouped and the main indicators for population ageing were calculated. Analysis and calculation procedures were performed by Microsoft Office Excel 2019. Results By 2019, in fourteen of sixteen selected European countries, the ageing index exceeded 100%, and in four countries, it was even over 150%: Italy (174.78%), Portugal (168.70%), Greece (157.89%) and Bulgaria (150.07%). In Bulgaria, the proportion of people 65+ was 21.64% with great differences by regions. The highest proportions were found for Vidin and Gabrovo (29,94% and 29.05% respectively) compared to 19.24% for Varna and 17.70% for Sofia. The ageing index varies from 109.40% for the region of Sliven, 126.38% for Varna and 119.91% for Sofia to 248.63% for Vidin, 248.17% for Gabrovo, and 227.98% for Kyustendil, which are the regions with lower availability of health care. Conclusions The profound regional differences in population ageing impose permanent monitoring and directing the regional social and public health policies to avoid unfavourable effects of this process. Key messages The change of health status with increasing age is a challenge for the capacity of the health systems, especially for provision of long-term care, to cover the needs of the elderly. It is of utmost importance to develop policies and conditions for long-term and palliative care and for improvement of services and living conditions to ensure a better quality of life.

Is China’s urban–rural difference in population aging rational? An international comparison with key indicators

AbstractChina's aging population is experiencing an urban–rural inversion phenomenon in that the rural population is aging faster. This is normal worldwide as studies have found that urban–rural differences in population aging have universal and phase characteristics. However, China's population aging presents a “polarization trend,” that is, the aging speed of areas with a deep aging degree is faster. In this paper, we try to test whether China's current urban–rural difference in population aging is rational if considered with China's current economic and social development. We adopted the four‐quadrant map analysis method and compare China with major developed and developing countries with key indicators. Data were mainly collected from databases by country, including the Statistical Yearbook, World Bank Database, and United Nations Database. Results show that urban–rural differences in China's aging population are significantly ahead of economic development and urbanization; this imbalance can explain the greater urban–rural disparity and the “polarization trend” in China's population. Results indicate that population aging's urban–rural differences are not necessarily exhibiting universal and phased characteristics in China. What's worse, the imbalanced population aging situation will make the rural poverty and the inter‐generational conflict more prominently. Public policies are necessary to deal with the current imbalance situation.

Visualizing spatial disparities in population aging in the Seoul Metropolitan Area

This paper explores the spatial differences in population aging within the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA) in the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea). Korea is among the most rapidly growing countries in the world in terms of its increasing elderly population. The speed of population aging and demographic decline has been a central issue in the field of urban and regional planning because it is linked to spatial inequalities in socio-economic development. Considering the present importance of understanding population aging, this paper aims to empirically visualize spatial disparities using the old-age dependency ratio, which is measured by the ratio of the elderly population to the working-age population (age 15–64 years old) of one hundred people. For the empirical period examined between 2000 and 2018, I mapped the changing temporal and spatial patterns of the old-age dependency ratio within SMA using spatial analytic tools and cartograms. The visualization reveals that the old-age dependency ratio is relatively high in sparsely-populated rural areas, which underscores the need for further discussion on how to sustainably provide local public services and manage the pressing issue of population extinction in those areas.

Unequally ageing regions of Europe: Exploring the role of urbanization

Since young adults tend to move from rural to urban regions, whereas older adults move from urban to rural regions, we may expect to see increasing differences in population ageing across urban and rural regions. This paper examines whether trends in population ageing across urban and rural NUTS-2 regions of the EU-27 have diverged over the period 2003–13. We use the methodological approach of convergence analysis, quite recently brought to demography from the field of economic research. Unlike classical beta and sigma approaches to convergence, we focus not on any single summary statistic of convergence, but rather analyse the whole cumulative distribution of regions. Such an approach helps to identify which specific group of regions is responsible for the major changes. Our results suggest that, despite expectations, there was no divergence in age structures between urban and rural regions; rather, divergence happened within each of the groups of regions.

Spatial Differences in China’s Population Aging and Influencing Factors: The Perspectives of Spatial Dependence and Spatial Heterogeneity

Since China became an aging society in 2000, the regional inequality of population aging has been highlighted, and the phenomenon of “aging before getting rich” has gradually become a core issue in China’s coordinated socioeconomic development. This paper aims to comprehensively assess the spatial differences and driving forces of China’s population aging through two-stage nested Theil decomposition, ESDA, and spatial econometric models. Empirical results show that spatial differences in population aging were evident at different spatial scales, and the distribution gradually decreased from east to west, showing a positive spatial correlation of similar value aggregation. Moreover, China’s population aging was determined by the demographic, socioeconomic, and natural environment, and there are different leading factors in different regions. The demographic aspects played a decisive role and had a direct influence, while the socioeconomic and natural environment indirectly affected population aging through demographic factors and became the root cause of regional differences in population aging. These findings provide an empirical basis for establishing a cooperative mechanism and formulating a targeted response to the problem of population aging in various regions in China.

Does salivary telomere length explain race/ethnic differences in aging?

ABSTRACT Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker that can be used to characterize variability in aging and may explain race/ethnic differences in aging. Yet, it remains unclear if TL is related to aging-associated health risks in multi-ethnic populations or if it explains race/ethnic differences in health. We examine whether salivary TL (STL) explains any of the race/ethnic variability in 15 indicators of high-risk biological, physical, and cognitive health among 4,074 White, Black, and Latinx older adults ages 54+ in the 2008 Health and Retirement Study. TL was assayed from saliva using quantitative PCR (T/S ratio). Decomposition analyses from logistic regression models show variation in STL does not account for any of the observed race/ethnic differences health. In age-adjusted, race-stratified models, STL was associated with HDL, total cholesterol, and lung function among Whites, but was not associated with any markers of health among Black or Latinx groups. In this diverse national sample of older adults, STL does not account for race/ethnic differences in late life health, is associated with relatively few indicators of health among Whites, and is not associated with indicators of health among Black or Latinx groups. STL may not be a useful biomarker for understanding racial/ethnic differences in population aging among older adults.

Regional differences in population aging in Europe viewed through prospective indicators

Regional differences in population aging in Europe viewed through prospective indicators

Regional Impact of Population Aging on Changes in Individual Self-perceptions of Aging: Findings From the German Ageing Survey.

The importance of self-perceptions of aging (SPA) for health and longevity is well documented. Comparably little is known about factors that contribute to SPA. Besides individual factors, the context a person lives in may shape SPA. Research has so far focused on country-level differences in age stereotypes, indicating that rapid population aging accompanies more negative age stereotypes. The present study expands previous research by investigating the impact of district-specific population aging within one country on different facets of SPA. Based on a large representative survey in Germany, the study investigates changes in SPA as ongoing development as well as the SPA of physical loss over a 12-year period in adults aged 40+. The study uses several indicators of population aging (e.g., population development, average age, greying index), to identify four clusters differing in their pace of population aging. Based on three-level latent change models, these clusters were compared in their impact on changes in SPA. Compared to districts with an average rate of population aging, the study shows that persons living in regions with a fast population aging rate (C1) hold more negative SPA in both facets (ps = .01). Districts with slow population aging (C2) have significantly higher SPA ongoing development (p = .03). The study underlines the importance for regional differences in population aging on the development of SPA. In particular, societies should be aware that fast population aging may result in more negative SPA.

Future Costs of Long-term Care in Japan and Sweden.

Population aging is expected to increase long-term care (LTC) costs in both Japan and Sweden. This study projected LTC costs for 2010 through 2040 for different assumptions of population change, LTC need by age group and gender, and LTC provided per level of need and cost in Japan and Sweden. Population data were taken from the official national forecasts. Needs projections were based on epidemiological data from the Nihon University Japanese Longitudinal Study of Aging and the Swedish Survey of Living Conditions. Data on LTC provision by need and cost were taken from nine Japanese municipalities collected by assessments in the LTC insurance system and from surveys in eight Swedish municipalities. Total initial costs were calibrated to official national figures. Two projections based on two different scenarios were made for each country from 2010 to 2040. The first scenario assumed a constant level of need for LTC by age group and gender, and the other assumed a continuation of the present LTC need trends until 2025. For Japan, this resulted in a projected cost increase of 93% for the one and 80% for the other; for Sweden it was 52% and 24%, respectively. The results reflected differences in population aging and health development.

Decomposition of regional convergence in population aging across Europe

In the face of rapidly aging population, decreasing regional inequalities in population composition is one of the regional cohesion goals of the European Union. To our knowledge, no explicit quantification of the changes in regional population aging differentiation exist. We investigate how regional differences in population aging developed over the last decade and how they are likely to evolve in the coming three decades, and we examine how demographic components of population growth contribute to the process. We use the beta-convergence approach to test whether regions are moving towards a common level of population aging. The change in population composition is decomposed into the separate effects of changes in the size of the non-working-age population and of the working-age population. The latter changes are further decomposed into the effects of cohort turnover, migration at working ages, and mortality at working ages. European Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS)-2 regions experienced notable convergence in population aging during the period 2003–2012 and are expected to experience further convergence in the coming three decades. Convergence in aging mainly depends on changes in the population structure of East-European regions. Cohort turnover plays the major role in promoting convergence. Differences in mortality at working ages, though quite moderate themselves, have a significant cumulative effect. The projections show that when it is assumed that net migration flows at working ages are converging across European regions, this will not contribute to convergence of population aging. The beta-convergence approach proves useful to examine regional variations in population aging across Europe.

Regionalne zróżnicowanie poziomu starości i dynamiki procesu starzenia się ludności Kuby w kontekście przemian społeczno-gospodarczych

This article presents the origins and the impact of demographic and socio-economic factors on the process of demographic ageing of the population of Cuba. The main aim of the study was to show the dynamics and regional differences in population ageing based on the WSD dynamic ageing index, as well as the WSE economic ageing index. It was shown that the ageing process reveals moderate diversity of the investigated phenomenon both in the urban-rural dimension as well as at the regional level. The process of population ageing is progressing throughout the whole country and its fastest pace was recorded in the outermost provinces. However, spatial differences in the ageing process may change fundamentally in the years to come, which will result from internal regulations concerning the mobility of the population, and new business investments. As a result, spatial differences are likely to increase and the spatial image of the ageing process will probably change.

Population aging in Slovenia: A spatial perspective

The Slovenian population is aging. In order to best adapt to this demographic change, it is necessary to face this issue and to study it from the perspective of various disciplines, including geography. This article therefore especially focuses on the spatial characteristics of population aging in Slovenia in addition to general characteristics. The findings show that population aging in Slovenia is not uniform; instead, there are large differences in population aging in Slovenia. In addition to general social processes such as falling birthrates and increasing life expectancy, these are primarily the result of spatial movement of the population. The conclusion presents some consequences that will arise in Slovenian territory and society in the future due to population aging.

Population ageing patterns in Małopolskie voivodship by poviats until 2030

Abstract.The aim of the paper is to demonstrate differences and similarities in population structures of the poviats of Małopolskie voivodship in the years 2010‒2030, with particular attention to population ageing. To describe the ageing process two types of indicators are used, namely conventional and prospective measures. As conventional ones we assume the percentage of the population aged 65 and over, and the old-age dependency ratio expressed as the number of persons aged 65 and over per 100 persons aged 20‒64. The same aspects of population ageing are expressed by a new group of measures based on a fresh concept for measuring age, the so-called prospective age. Unlike chronological (retrospective) age, prospective age takes into account the changes in life expectancy that occur in the period under consideration. Using the data coming from Demographic Years Book 2011, and from Demographic Projection 2008‒2011 (www.stat.gov.pl) some types of population ageing patterns in Małopolskie voivodship by poviats until 2030 are demonstrated. They count both differences in population ageing of poviats in Małopolskie voivodship and the dynamics of this process in view of conventional and prospective measures. The general features of demographic ageing in Małopolskie voivodship in 2010‒2030 are formulated in conclusions.