Microeconomic analyses of the health of the elderly in China (original) (raw)
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Health Outcomes and Socio-Economic Status Among the Elderly in China: Evidence from the CHARLS Pilot
2010
We are concerned in this paper with measuring health outcomes among the elderly in Zhejiang and Gansu provinces, China, and examining the relationships between different dimensions of health status and measures of socioeconomic status (SES). We use the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) pilot data to document health conditions among the elderly in Gansu and Zhejiang provinces, where the survey was fielded. We use a very rich set of health indicators that include both self-reported measures and biomarkers. We also examine correlations between these health outcomes and two important indicators of socioeconomic status (SES): education and log of per capita expenditure (log pce), our preferred measure of household resources. While there exists a very large literature that examines the relationships between SES and health measures, little has been done on Chinese data to see whether correlations reported in many other countries are replicated in China, particularly so for the aged. In general education tends to be positively correlated with better health outcomes, as it is in other countries. However, unmeasured community influences turn out to be highly important, much more so than one usually finds in other countries. While it is not yet clear which aspects of communities matter and why they matter, we set up an agenda for future research on this topic. We also find a large degree of under-diagnosis of hypertension, a major health problems that afflicts the aged. This implies that the current health system is not well prepared to address the rapid aging of the Chinese population, at least not in Gansu and Zhejiang.
Health & place, 2014
This paper uses multi-level modelling to analyse data from the nationally-representative Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in order to investigate the characteristics associated with poor health among older people, including individual and household characteristics as well as the characteristics of the provinces in which the older person lives (contextual effects). The results show that older Chinese women, rural residents, those with an education level lower than high school, without individual income sources, who are ex-smokers, and those from poor economic status households are more likely to report disability and poor self-rated health. Differentials in the health outcomes remain substantial between provinces even after controlling for a number of individual and household characteristics.
The journal of the economics of ageing, 2014
Health Outcomes and SocioEconomic Status among the Elderly in China: Evidence from the CHARLS Pilot * We are concerned in this paper with measuring health outcomes among the elderly in Zhejiang and Gansu provinces, China, and examining the relationships between different dimensions of health status and measures of socioeconomic status (SES). We use the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) pilot data to document health conditions among the elderly in Gansu and Zhejiang provinces, where the survey was fielded. We use a very rich set of health indicators that include both self-reported measures and biomarkers. We also examine correlations between these health outcomes and two important indicators of socioeconomic status (SES): education and log of per capita expenditure (log pce), our preferred measure of household resources. While there exists a very large literature that examines the relationships between SES and health measures, little has been done on Chinese data to see whether correlations reported in many other countries are replicated in China, particularly so for the aged. In general education tends to be positively correlated with better health outcomes, as it is in other countries. However, unmeasured community influences turn out to be highly important, much more so than one usually finds in other countries. While it is not yet clear which aspects of communities matter and why they matter, we set up an agenda for future research on this topic. We also find a large degree of under-diagnosis of hypertension, a major health problems that afflicts the aged. This implies that the current health system is not well prepared to address the rapid aging of the Chinese population, at least not in Gansu and Zhejiang.
Health Outcomes and Socio-Economic Status Among the Elderly in China
2010
We are concerned in this paper with measuring health outcomes among the elderly in Zhejiang and Gansu provinces, China, and examining the relationships between different dimensions of health status and measures of socioeconomic status (SES). We are CHARLS pilot data to document health conditions, using a very rich set of health indicators that include both self-reported measures and biomarkers. We also examine correlations between these health outcomes and two important indicators of socioeconomic status (SES): education and log of per capita expenditure (log pce), our preferred measure of household resources. In general education tends to be positively correlated with better health outcomes, as it is in other countries. However, unmeasured community influences turn out to be highly important, much more so than one usually finds in other countries. While it is not yet
The journal of the economics of ageing, 2014
Using a very rich set of health indicators that include both self-reported measures and biomarkers from the CHARLS national baseline data, we document health conditions of the Chinese mid-aged and elderly, examine correlations between these health outcomes and socioeconomic status and compare these associations by gender, hukou status and region. As expected, we find that Chinese mid-aged and elderly are facing challenges from chronic diseases including hypertension. Overnutrition has become a bigger problem than undernutrition, particularly for women, reflected in a higher rate of overweight compared to underweight. Disability rates are also high, especially for female, rural and inland respondents, who also report suffering from more pain than male, urban and coastal ones. In general, education and PCE tend to be positively correlated with better health outcomes, as it is in other countries. For PCE the relationship is very nonlinear. At low levels of PCE, there exists a positive correlation with better health outcomes, while for higher levels of PCE the relationship flattens out. Unmeasured community influences turn out to be highly important, much more so than one usually finds in other countries. We also find a large degree of under-diagnosis of hypertension, a major health problems that afflicts the aged, although less large than in some other developing countries. This implies that the current health system is still not well prepared to address the rapid aging of the Chinese population.
Healthcare
China launched a comprehensive health reform in 2009, as part of the central government’s plan to improve its healthcare system. This study investigates the associations of socioeconomic status with receiving adequate healthcare services among Chinese older adults following the 2009 health reform. Using the 6th and the 7th waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), a repeated cross-sectional study design was adopted (n = 9305). Firth’s logistic regression models were used for statistical analysis. In the fully adjusted model, being non-married was negatively associated with adequate healthcare services (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.68, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.54, 0.86). Higher levels of income were positively associated with adequate healthcare services (all ps < 0.05). Participants who relied on non-urban social insurance plans all had lower odds of receiving adequate healthcare services (all ps < 0.01), compared with older adults who used th...
Social Science & Medicine, 2009
Numerous studies document improvements in health status and health expectancies among older adults over time. However, most evidence is from developed nations and gender differences in health trends are often inconsistent. It remains unknown whether changes in health in developing countries resemble Western trends or whether patterns of health improvement are unique to the country's epidemiologic transition and gender norms. Using two nationally representative samples of noninstitutionalized adults in China ages 65 and older, this study investigates gender differences in the improvements in disability, chronic disease prevalence, and self-rated health from 1992 to 2002. Results from multivariate logistic regression models show that all three indicators of health improved over the 10-year period, with the largest improvement in self-rated health. With the exception of disability, the health of women improved more than men. Using Sullivan's decomposition methods, we also show that active life expectancy, disease-free life expectancy, and healthy life expectancy increased over this decade and were patterned differently according to gender. Overall, the findings demonstrate that China experienced broad health-improvements during its early stages of the epidemiologic transition and that these changes were not uniform by gender. We discuss the public health implications of the findings in the context of China's rapidly aging population.
BMC Public Health
Background From 2020 to 2050, China’s population aged ≥65 years old is estimated to more than double from 172 million (12·0%) to 366 million (26·0%). Some 10 million have Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, to approach 40 million by 2050. Critically, the population is ageing fast while China is still a middle-income country. Methods Using official and population-level statistics, we summarise China’s demographic and epidemiological trends relevant to ageing and health from 1970 to present, before examining key determinants of China’s improving population health in a socioecological framework. We then explore how China is responding to the care needs of its older population by carrying out a systematic review to answer the question: ‘what are the key policy challenges to China achieving an equitable nationwide long-term care system for older people?’. Databases were screened for records published between 1st June 2020 and 1st June 2022 in Mandarin Chinese or English, reflectin...
Understanding Health and Social Challenges for Aging and Long-Term Care in China
Research on Aging
The second King’s College London Symposium on Ageing and Long-term Care in China was convened from 4 to 5th July 2019 at King’s College London in London. The aim of the Symposium was to have a better understanding of health and social challenges for aging and long-term care in China. This symposium draws research insights from a wide range of disciplines, including economics, public policy, demography, gerontology, public health and sociology. A total of 20 participants from eight countries, seek to identify the key issues and research priorities in the area of aging and long-term care in China. The results published here are a synthesis of the top four research areas that represent the perspectives from some of the leading researchers in the field.