Fastest Aging Country Research Articles

Adaptation of rice farmers to aging in Thailand

Abstract As one of the fastest-aging countries globally, Thailand faces unique challenges in its agricultural landscape due to the accelerated aging of its farming population. As rice is the most important crop, it is essential to understand the perceptions of farmers regarding the effects of aging on rice farming and how they adapt to aging. This research examined the adjustments that rice farmers had made in their practices over the past 5 years to cope with this demographic shift. The study utilized survey data collected from 300 rice farmers across two prominent rice-producing provinces in Thailand. The findings revealed that 32% of the surveyed rice farmers had adapted to the challenges posed by aging. The top two adaptive strategies allowed descendants to be more involved in rice farming activities and utilization of labor-saving machinery. To analyze the factors influencing the decision to adapt to aging, a binary probit model was employed. The results indicated that several factors played a positive and significant role in the rice farmers’ decisions. These included the farmer’s age, the size of agricultural land, access to irrigation, land ownership, the farmer’s perception of the impact of aging on rice farming, willingness to learn to use and embrace innovative technology for planting and harvesting, and a reduced number of farming activities performed through custom hiring services. Among these factors, irrigation, land ownership, and the farmer’s perception of the aging impact were found to have a strong influence on the farmer’s adaptation.

Nationwide mortality trends from 2001 to 2020 in Greece: health policy implications under the scope of aging societies

ObjectiveThis nationwide study aims to analyze mortality trends for all individual causes in Greece from 2001 to 2020, with a specific focus on 2020, a year influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. As Greece is the fastest-aging country in Europe, the study’s findings can be generalized to other aging societies, guiding the reevaluation of global health policies. MethodsData on the population and the number of deaths were retrieved from the Hellenic Statistical Authority. We calculated age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) and cause-specific mortality rates by sex in three age groups (0–64, 65–79, and 80+ years) from 2001 to 2020. Proportional mortality rates for 2020 were determined. Statistical analysis used generalized linear models with Python Programming Language. ResultsFrom 2001 to 2020, the ASMR of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) decreased by 42.7% (p < 0.0001), with declines in most sub-causes, except for hypertensive diseases, which increased by 2.8-fold (p < 0.0001). In 2020, the proportional mortality rates of the three leading causes were 34.9% for CVD, 23.5% for neoplasms, and 9.6% for respiratory diseases (RD). In 2020, CVD were the leading cause of death among individuals aged 80+ years (39.3%), while neoplasms were the leading cause among those aged 0–79 years (37.7%). Among cardiovascular sub-causes, cerebrovascular diseases were predominant in the 80+ year age group (30.3%), while ischemic heart diseases were most prevalent among those aged 0–79 years (up to 60.0%). ConclusionsThe global phenomenon of population aging necessitates a reframing of health policies in our aging societies, focusing on diseases with either a high mortality burden, such as CVD, neoplasms, and RD, or those experiencing increasing trends, such as hypertensive diseases.

Development of a long-term care service integration self-assessment tool

ABSTRACT The World Health Organization emphasizes the importance of providing integrated care for older people. Taiwan is the fastest aging country in the world. In 2016, Taiwan implemented the Long-Term Care Plan 2.0 (TLTCP 2.0), aimed at providing integrated long-term care (LTC) services in communities. However, LTC service agencies have not been able to evaluate the level of integrated care they provide due to the lack of an effective assessment tool. To address this need, this study sets out to develop an integration assessment tool, namely the Self-Assessment for Service Integration in Long-Term Care (SASI-LTC), which will allow LTC agencies to self-evaluate their current level of integration from multiple perspectives. The SASI-LTC was developed based on Evashwick’s framework, underwent two rounds of Delphi panels with twenty-six experts, and a pilot test with 243 valid questionnaires from administrators of Tier A agencies who are responsible for integrating LTC. The Delphi experts assessed the content with high levels of agreement using medians, the scale content validity index (SCVI) and item content validity index (ICVI). The SASI-LTC included four domains (inter-entity organization and management, integrated care coordination, integrated resources, and integrated information systems) with thirty items. The SASI-LTC showed good reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.94) and good validity, and a confirmatory factor analysis showed a good model fit index [χ2/df = 1.38; RMSEA = 0.040; CFI = 0.963; SRMR = 0.049] in pilot testing. While the SASI-LTC is a useful and feasible tool for Taiwan’s LTC service agencies to evaluate their level of integration in providing LTC services, it could also be used in other countries with minor adjustments to localization of items related to financial integration.

Associations between regular physical exercise and physical, emotional, and cognitive health of older adults in China: an 8-year longitudinal study with propensity score matching.

The importance of healthy aging is growing in China as it has the largest number of older adults in the world and is one of the fastest-aging countries. This study aimed to examine the predictive value of regular physical exercise in relation to the physical, emotional, and cognitive health among samples of adults aged ≥60 years in China during an 8-year period. A total of 10,691 older adults were extracted from two waves of national data from the China Family Panel Studies in 2010 and 2018. To minimize the impact of selection bias on the findings, a longitudinal propensity score matching (LPSM) method was used to examine the relationships between regular physical exercise and emotional health (depression), between regular physical exercise and physical health (instrumental activities of daily living), and between regular physical exercise and cognitive health (cognitive ability) of older adults. After LPSM, 856 older adults were included in the study. In the regular physical exercise group, the average age of participants at baseline year was 65.67 years, with an average age of 65.90 years for 238 men and 65.45 years for 190 women, and in the non-physical exercise group, their average age at baseline year was 65.70 years, with an average age of 65.45 years for 253 men and 65.98 years for 175 women. LPSM indicated that regular physical exercise has been found to be effective in improving physical function and reducing depressive symptoms in old adults, even after controlling for background differences. However, the sensitivity analysis suggests that the positive association between regular physical exercise and cognitive function may not be sufficiently valid. The findings of this study indicate that engaging in long-term structured and repetitive physical exercise can have a significant positive effect on reducing depressive symptoms and improving the physical function of older adults. As a result, incorporating regular physical exercise into the lifestyle of older adults is recognized as an effective strategy for promoting healthy aging and reducing the strain on public health resources.

Study on the time and scale of mutual aid for aging care under the background of active aging.

China has entered an aging society and will likely become the fastest-aging country in the world. The demand for aging care services has greatly increased. In recent years, the model of mutual aid for aging care has met the needs of older adults, especially those in rural areas. In this case, how much time should be spent on mutual aid for the older adult in terms of time and how much influence the size of the group has in terms of space are two very important questions when studying mutual aid for aging care. An overlapping generations model is built in this article, which includes representative agents, representative enterprises, the endowment insurance system constructed by the government, and the behavior of representative agents in mutual aid for aging care under the background of active aging. In the base case, the optimal proportion of time to participate in the mutual aid group is 9.31%, and the optimal proportion of time is influenced by the benchmark time of care and the size of the care group. With the increase in the benchmark time of care, the optimal proportion of time increases correspondingly, but the increase is decreasing. With the increase in the size of the care group, the optimal proportion of time decreases, but after the size reaches 4 or 5, the impact becomes very small. When parents' psychological preference coefficient changes from 0.1 to 0.9, that is, when parents change from introverted to extroverted personalities, the optimal proportion of time and parents' utility will also change. For children who usually take care of their parents for a long benchmark time, the optimal time to participate in the mutual aid group based on personal utility maximization is also long. Second, as the size of the group increases, the time for representative agents to participate in the mutual aid group gradually decreases. In addition, the model of mutual aid for aging care is highly correlated with parents' personalities, and extrovert parents benefit more from this model.

Living with energy poverty: Uncovering older people’s fuel choices in urban China

Cities are front-runners and essential actors in the household energy transition from traditional solid to modern non-solid fuels. However, achieving an equitable and just transition in cities presents challenges, particularly for vulnerable populations. Among these vulnerable groups, older people are particularly affected by energy poverty, facing inadequate access to clean and modern energy. Yet, the linkages between their energy poverty and fuel choices remain underexplored, especially in urban areas outside the Global North context. This study focuses on China, a fastest-aging country, and aims to understand why some older people in affluent urban areas continue to burn honeycomb coal briquettes. By analyzing older people’s subjective experiences and objective connections to their fuel use, we uncover their lived experiences with energy poverty. We extended the ‘Energy Cultures Framework’ by including older people's vulnerability attributes alongside their material culture, norms, practices, and external influences. Using semi-structured interviews and participant observations in urban Wuhan, we found two patterns of dirty fuel stacking among older people facing energy poverty: passive and active dirty stacking. Passive dirty stacking is mainly caused by older energy-poor individuals' material culture, external influences, and vulnerability attributes; whereas active dirty stacking is primarily associated with their norms, practices, vulnerability attributes, and related external factors. Our findings provide strong implications for social and energy policy, particularly regarding the characterization of energy poverty, regulatory and infrastructural responses, social justice, grassroots governance, energy literacy, and cultural compatibility.

Sleep duration trajectories and all-cause mortality among Chinese elderly: A community-based cohort study

BackgroundChina is among the largest and fastest aging countries. The elderly population is more vulnerable, with higher proportion of inappropriate sleep duration and risk of mortality, compared with young and middle-aged adults. Single-measured sleep duration has been associated with mortality, but the health effects of long-term sleep duration trajectories remain unknown. This study aimed to explore the prospective associations between sleep duration trajectories and all-cause mortality among Chinese elderly.MethodsParticipants (n = 3,895; median age: 82 years; females: 53.3%) who reported sleep duration in all three surveys (2005, 2008, and 2011) from the community-based Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) were followed up until 2019 (about 8 years). We identified sleep duration trajectories by latent class mixed model and explored their association with all-cause mortality using Cox hazard proportional regression and Laplace regression models. Further, stratified analysis by demographic characteristics and lifestyles and sensitivity analysis by lag effect, health-related factors, and inverse probability weighting were used to verify the robustness of the association. In addition, we explored the threshold effect of baseline sleep duration on the risk of all-cause mortality.ResultsWe documented 1,881 all-cause deaths during 16,689 person-years of follow-up. Five sleep duration trajectories were identified: moderately increased trajectory (28.1%), rapidly increased trajectory (7.2%), persistent sleep trajectory of 7 h (33.7%), moderately decreased trajectory (21.3%), and rapidly decreased trajectory (9.7%). Compared with the persistent sleep trajectory of 7 h, the multivariable-adjusted HRs (95%CI) for moderately increased trajectory, rapidly increased trajectory, moderately decreased trajectory, and rapidly decreased trajectory were 1.21 (1.08, 1.36), 1.21 (1.01, 1.44), 0.95 (0.82, 1.10), and 0.93 (0.78, 1.11), respectively; and the corresponding difference in median survival time (95%CI) were -0.53 (-1.01, -0.05), -0.43 (0.16, -1.02), 0.26 (-0.34, 0.86), and 0.25 (-0.51, 1.02), respectively. Stratified and sensitivity analyses showed consistent results. Threshold analysis indicated a sharply increased risk of mortality in participants whose sleep exceeds 9 h (HR = 1.20, 95%CI: 1.11, 1.30).ConclusionCompared with the persistent sleep trajectory of 7 h, moderately and rapidly increased sleep duration trajectories were associated with higher subsequent mortality in Chinese elderly. Those who report sleep exceeding 9 h may be at high risk for all-cause mortality.

39. The Outcome of Prolanis (Program Pengelolaan Penyakit Kronis/Chronic Disease Management Program) in Jatirejo Primary Health Care

Background: Indonesia is one of the fastest-aging countries. The increased elderly population carries the burden of chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus, along with their complications. The reinforcement of lifestyle changes has been promoted in primary healthcare through the Prolanis program to reduce these diseases’ burden, though its effectivity is unknown. Objective: To evaluate the outcome of the Prolanis program in Jatirejo Primary Healthcare. Methods: In this study, 61 patients were recruited from November 2021 – April 2022. Data were obtained from medical records as pre- and post-follow-up in 6 months period. Data pre- and post-follow-up were analyzed using the Wilcoxon and dependent T-test. Results: There were 64.52% patients with systolic hypertension. The median data of pre- and post- follow up showed that: HbA1C was 5.9% (range 3 – 13) and 6.3% (range 5 – 11) (p 0,959); BUN was 15,3 mg/dL (range 10 – 32) and 14,8 mg/dL (range 13 – 25) (p 0,638); serum creatinine was 0,8 mg/dL (range 0,4 – 3,1) and 1,2 mg/dL (range 0,7 – 2,6) (p 0,026); total cholesterol was 183 (range, 123 – 300) and 219 (range 179 – 231) (p 0,008); triglycerides was 133 (range 82 – 326) and 159 (range 135 – 394) (p 0,416); HDL was 40,65 SD ± 2 and 41 SD ± 2,3 (p 0,206); LDL was 117,5 SD ± 35 and 139,7 SD ± 20 (p 0,886); and urine microalbumin was 53 (range 5 – 200) and 63,5 (range 5 – 200) (p 0,721). Conclusion: Improvement in patients’ outcomes has not been shown after Prolanis program. Further study with larger populations and more variables is needed.

A Subgroup Method of Projecting Future Vulnerability and Adaptation to Extreme Heat

This study presents a new method, a subgroup method, of predicting future vulnerabilities to high temperatures. In this method, the total population is divided into subgroups based on characteristics such as age. The adaptation trends are extracted for each subgroup, and they are combined based on the demographic structure of the future population to obtain the overall future relative risk of mortality to heat. The subgroup method is better than a simple extrapolation method because it can consider any demographic and socio-economic changes in the population. This study predicts the future temperature-related vulnerability of South Korea until 2100 based on the subgroup method. South Korea is one of the fastest aging countries, where the portion of mortality for older population aged 75 and more in 2005 (center of the baseline period) was 42.9%, whereas the portion becomes 96.5% in 2100, dominating the total mortality. This study found that the older population aged 75 and more can adapt to extreme temperatures like 40 °C 4.5 times slower than the younger population aged under 75. In addition, this study found that the conventional simple extrapolation method assumed a constant demographic structure and overestimated the future adaptation rate by 7.1 times faster than the subgroup method, which considered the demographic change and estimated the overall future vulnerability to extreme heat accordingly. The finding in this study shows that it is very important to consider demographic changes in the future temperature-related vulnerability projection, particularly in a fast-aging country like South Korea.

A Theoretical Study for the Introduction of Beauty Welfare System in Korea, Aging Society

This study is a literature review for the introduction of the beauty welfare system in Korea which has entered an aging society. Korea is the fastest aging country among OECD countries, and has many social problems such as poverty and suicide of the elderly. A beauty welfare system is needed to raise the depression, self-esteem, and social skills of these elderly people, and to improve the quality of life. We searched for papers related to beauty welfare published in four major academic journals in the field of beauty over the past decade and selected advanced cases ffor the introduction of the beauty welfare system in Korea. First, we proposed the necessity of establishing the concept of beauty welfare in Korea, which is still ambiguous. In addition, Japan's beauty welfare system and professional training education, which faced an aging society ahead of Korea, were summarized and presented. Lastly, the papers written on the topic of beauty welfare were classified according to their characteristics, and they were largely divided into emotional and institutional aspects. In Korea, which has many problems with the elderly, it is very important to introduce a beauty welfare system and to train professional beauty welfare workers. This study is intended to be used as basic data for setting the direction of research on beauty welfare in Korea and introducing the beauty welfare system.

On the relationship between fiscal multipliers and population aging in Japan: Theory and empirics

Recent literature has pointed out that the effect of fiscal policy possibly depends on the aging structure. This paper contributes to the literature by approaching this issue from both empirical and theoretical perspectives. We first examine how population aging affects the efficacy of fiscal stimulus by using panel data from Japan, the world's fastest aging country, and reveal that a government spending shock becomes less effective as the aging rate increases. Then, we construct the theoretical model with heterogeneous agents to replicate our empirical evidence and conduct counterfactual simulation to identify the source of state-dependency. The counterfactual analysis highlights the role of the supply channel through which workers under a liquidity constraint can benefit from increased disposable income induced by a government spending shock. This suggests that promoting labor market participation by elderly people can increase the effectiveness of a government spending shock amid a rapidly aging society.

The increasing burden of pancreatic cancer in Brazil from 2000 to 2019: estimates from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

INTRODUCTION: Pancreatic cancer is increasing worldwide. The burden of pancreatic cancer in Brazil and its states was analyzed and compared with that from the USA and China. METHODS: This is a descriptive study of the incidence and mortality estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study, from 2000 to 2019. The Brazilian states presenting the highest and lowest socio-demographic index (SDI) were selected from each of the five regions. The SDI consists of the per capita income, education, and fertility rate of each population. RESULTS: A significant increase was found in age-standardized incidence and mortality of pancreatic cancer in all three countries, with differences in magnitude and annual increases. In Brazil, this incidence rose from 5.33 [95% Uncertainty Interval (UI): 5.06- 5.51] to 6.16 (95% UI: 5.68- 6.53) per 100,000 inhabitants. China and the Brazilian states with the lowest SDI, such as Pará and Maranhão, showed lower incidence and mortality rates, although presenting the highest annual increases. No difference was found between the sexes. A higher mortality rate was observed for those individuals of 70+ years, which was three to four times higher than those aged 50 to 69 years. CONCLUSIONS: The increasing burden of pancreatic cancer in the studied countries, and the higher estimates for the elderly in a fast-aging country such as Brazil, indicates that more resources and health policies will be necessary. The greatest increase in the states with lower SDI reflects inequalities in the access to diagnosis and registries of this cancer.

The impact of HCBS use patterns on older aduts’ physical function among continuous service users

Background Taiwan, one of the fastest aging countries in the world, provides home-and community-based services (HCBS) care recipients through the second 10-Year Long-Term Care Plans (LTC Plans 2.0). The current study aimed to examine the impact of continuous use of HCBS offered by LTC plan 2.0 on older adults’ physical function change overtime. Methods This study used the LTC Plan 2.0 database and the National Health Insurance Plan claim dataset, and included 157,682 clients who had applied for and were evaluated for LTC services for the first time from 2018 through 2020 and continuously used any LTC Plan 2.0 services for six months. Outcome variables were measured by activities ofdaily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) between baseline assessment and the assessment after the six months of serivce utilization. Latent class analysis and generalized estimating equations were used to investigate the influences of different service use patterns on the changes in physical functions. Results Three subgroups of LTC recipients with different use patterns, including home-based personal care (home-based PC) services (n = 111,976; 71.01%), professional care services (n = 31,584; 20.03%), and community care services (n = 14,122; 8.96%) were identified. When compared to care recipients in the community care group, those in the home-based PC group improved more in IADL scores, and the professional care group improved more ADL scores. Conclusion Those receiving more professional services made more progress in ADL ability, but those in home-based PC made more progress in IADL ability.

"It's extremely hard but it's not a burden": A qualitative study of family caregiving for people living with dementia in Vietnam.

BackgroundVietnam is one of the fastest-aging countries in the world with a rising number of people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Families in Vietnam provide most of the care for persons living with dementia, yet our understanding of their experiences and needs is limited. This study examined the family caregiving experience in a semi-rural region outside of central Hanoi from the perspectives of family caregivers and other key informants.MaterialsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 key stakeholders (12 family caregivers and 9 healthcare providers and community leaders). A descriptive, thematic analysis was conducted.ResultsQualitative data analysis revealed four themes related to the family caregiving experience: 1) perceptions of dementia symptoms as a normal part of aging rather than a disease, 2) caregiving as a moral and expected familial obligation, 3) patterns of caregiving that are heavily influenced by both gender and sibling order, and 4) multiple challenges or hardships, including time constraints, loss of income, increased social isolation, a toll on their perceived physical health, and emotional distress. Caregivers rejected the notion that caregiving was a “burden” and expressed their distress through terms such as frustration, sadness, and exhaustion.ConclusionsIn this low-resource setting, the stress of family caregiving may be amplified by lack of community resources, cultural stigma discouraging outside help-seeking, and economic impact of care provision. The study highlights the vulnerability and predicament of Vietnamese women who often face multiple challenges in their caregiving role as well as the urgent need for the development of community-based programs and supports.

Lifestyle segmentation of older Koreans: a longitudinal comparison of segments and life satisfaction

PurposeAging is a global phenomenon for many countries, and South Korea has become the fastest aging country in the world. The purpose of this study is to identify and validate a representative typology of older Koreans based on their lifestyle and value orientations. This study also makes a longitudinal comparison of these segments in two waves using similar survey data collected in 2009 and 2017 and examines any meaningful changes that occurred during the periods.Design/methodology/approachUsing survey data collected from 750 older adults living in four major cities in Korea, this study conducted factor and cluster analysis to identify lifestyle segmentation of elderly Koreans. Both descriptive and mean comparison analyses are followed to characterize the segments with relevant demographic and behavioral variables. In addition, this study makes a longitudinal comparison of these segments in two waves (2009 and 2017) and examines any meaningful changes that occurred during the periods.FindingsSix distinctive lifestyle segments of elderly Koreans are identified. The longitudinal comparison reveals some changes that occurred during the period. The level of importance of values and things to own has been declined during the period on most of the aspects, which can be interpreted that older Koreans become more realistic and practical. The level of life satisfaction between the two periods turned out to be similar. However, satisfaction in material comfort and health has been improved during the period, which means that the perception of their financial and physical aspects has been improved over the years.Originality/valueFirst, based on Tempest et al.’s three grey discontinuity framework (2002), the segmentation model provides comprehensive coverage of psychological transitions experienced by older people due to economic, physical and mental discontinuities with age. Second, this might be the first longitudinal study to examine the changes in segmentation over time in terms of the lifestyle of older adults. Practically, the findings of this study provide useful insights for policymakers in developing aging-related policies as well as for marketers who are interested or currently doing business in Korea or Asian consumer markets.

The Investigation on the Burden of Neurology Residents to Manage the Patient who Received Thrombolytic Treatment in the Emergency Department with Hyperacute Stroke

Background: Because Korea is the fastest aging country, the stroke incidence is increasing rapidly. We investigate the trend of the number of patients with acute stroke in recent years and estimate the burden of the neurologist to treat the acute stroke patient visited the emergency department.Methods: We requested a questionnaire survey to all teaching hospitals on the number of hospital beds, the number of stroke patients who visited the emergency department, the number of stroke patients in charge of the neurologist, and the number of days on duty of residents from 2016 to 2019.Results: Of 69 teaching hospitals, 41 hospitals answered the survey. The average hospital beds per hospital were increased annually from 909 to 916. The average patients who visited the emergency department with stroke and were in charged to neurologists were rapidly increased from 799 to 867 per hospital. In particular, the number of patients with hyperacute cerebral infarction requiring the thrombolytic administration or mechanical thrombectomy were rapidly increased from 105 to 131. On the other hand, the average number of residents per hospital was decreased from 5.1 to 4.8. Therefore, the days on duty per resident were increased from 74 to 77.Conclusions: The number of acute stroke patients, especially, hyperacute stroke required the rapid cooperation and high labor were increasing rapidly in recent years. However, because the number of residents were decreased, the burden was increasing. To improve the quality of acute stroke treatment, it is necessary to increase the number of residents.

Development of visual-motor integration scale for the Korean old people.

Effective methods to detect old people cognitive decline in early stages are needed in Korea, which is the fastest aging country in the world. This study aimed to develop a brief cognitive function measurement, Visual-Motor Integration Scale for the Korean elderly (VMIS-KE). In this methodological research, 16 preliminary items on visual-motor integration for the old people were chosen after literature review and expert validation. One hundred eighty participants aged 20–79 years were recruited to verify the validity and reliability of this measurement from community sources in Daegu city. The collected data were analyzed by exploratory factor analysis and confirmative factor analysis using SPSS and AMOS 18.0 program. The three factors (figure cognition, memory, and spatial cognition) with 12 items were finally extracted. Goodness of the fit was confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis. The Cronbach α was 0.867. The scores of overall VMIS-KE and every subcategory significantly decreased with age, especially in the 70s. VMIS-KE is the first valid and reliable measurement to assess cognitive decline of the Korean old people through visual motor integration, and can easily and quickly detect high-risk groups of dementia regardless of their educational level.

Exploring the spatial-temporal distribution and evolution of population aging and social-economic indicators in China

BackgroundChina is one of the world’s fastest-aging countries. Population aging and social-economic development show close relations. This study aims to illustrate the spatial-temporal distribution and movement of gravity centers of population aging and social-economic factors and thier spatial interaction across the provinces in China.MethodsFactors of elderly population rate (EPR), elderly dependency ratio (EDR), per capita gross regional product (GRPpc), and urban population rate (UPR) were collected. Distribution patterns were detected by using global spatial autocorrelation, Kernel density estimation, and coefficient of variation. Further, Arc GIS software was used to find the gravity centers and their movement trends yearly from 2002 to 2018. The spatial interaction between the variables was investigated based on bivariate spatial autocorrelation analysis.ResultsThe results showed a larger variety of global spatial autocorrelation indexed by Moran’s I and stable trends of dispersion degree without obvious convergence in EPR and EDR. Furthermore, the gravity centers of the proportion of EPR and EDR moved northeastward. In contrast, the economic and urbanization factors showed a southwestward movement, which exhibited an reverse trend compared to population aging indicators. Moreover, the movement rates of EPR and EDR (15.12 and 18.75 km/year, respectively) were higher than that of GRPpc (13.79 km/year) and UPR (6.89 km/year) annually during the study period. Further, the bivariate spatial autocorrelation variation is in line with the movement trends of gravity centers which showed a polarization trend of population aging and social-economic factors that the difference between southwest and northeast directions and exhibited a tendency to expand in China.ConclusionsIn sum, our findings revealed the difference in spatio-temporal distribution and variation between population aging and social-economic factors in China. It further indicates that the opposite movements of gravity centers and the change of the BiLISA in space which may result in the increase of the economic burden of the elderly care in northern China. Hence, future development policy should focus on the social-economic growth and distribution of old-aged supporting resources, especially in northern China.

PREVALENCE OF DEPRESSION AND THE ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG THE ELDERLY IN SOME COMMUNITIES OF THUA THIEN HUE PROVINCE

Introduction: Currently, Vietnam is entering the aging population stage and is one of the fastest aging countries worldwide. Old age increases the risk of chronic diseases, particularly mental health disorders. Objective: investigated the prevalence of depression and examined the associated factors with depression among older people. Methods: A cross-sectional study was implemented in 760 older people in some communities of Thua Thien Hue province from January to August 2020. Data were collected by directinterviewing based on a structured questionnaire, including demographic, socio-economic, geriatric Depression scale with 30 questions (GDS-30), health status and physical activities. The GDS-30 was used to evaluate the prevalence of depression. The multiple logistic regression model was applied to exam the associated factors with depression. Results: Our findings indicated that the prevalence of depression among elderly people was 28.6%, comprising mild (23.6%) and seveve (5%). The higher Odds of depression was observed in the low economic status (poor/near-poor) (OR= 2.51; 95% CI: 1.15 – 5.48), live alone (OR= 2.43; 95% CI: 1.02-5.78), co-morbidities chronic disease(OR =1,59; 95% CI: 1.01 – 2.52), self-evaluation not good in overall health status (OR =2.34; 95% CI: 1,50 – 3,66), dissatisfaction in health (OR = 2.55; 95% CI:1.59 – 4.08), lack of physical activities (OR =2.79; 95% CI: 1.83 - 4.27), and low quality of life (OR = 2.79; 95% CI: 1.84-4.24). Conclusions: This research suggests that older people are commonly exposing to depression in the communities. Therefore, the priority strategies for reducing depression should be implemented, particularly in the high-risk groups.

Understanding Credit Card Usage Behavior of Elderly Korean Consumers for Sustainable Growth: Implications for Korean Credit Card Companies

The Republic of Korea is the fastest aging country in the world, and its silver market, which is the market segment broadly defined as senior citizens, began to emerge in 2008 as Korean baby boomers started to retire. Given that the assets of households headed by individuals 55 years of age and over are much higher than those of average Korean households, it is essential for Korean financial institutions targeting elderly consumer groups to understand their credit card usage behavior, as it can be very attractive and provide the potential to lead to sustainable growth for institutions, while the market targeting for this group has not been well developed yet. This study examined elderly Korean consumers’ credit card usage behavior in terms of key demographic variables. In this study, we found that the number of cards owned was negatively related to age and positively related to income level. In addition, those who were not retired owned more credit cards than those who were. Although the average monthly expenditure by credit cards was positively related to income, it was not significantly different in terms of age or retirement status. The findings from this research provide significant implications for marketers of credit card companies when searching for key target groups, particularly elderly consumers.