Health and ageing in low, middle and high-income countries (1)

This study is one of the first attempts to quantify and decompose health inequalities among the older population in India. At the same time, the study aims to examine whether these inequalities vary for the older population below 70 years and 70 years and above. The initial investigation begins with a bivariate assessment of the socioeconomic differentials in terms of poor health status of the older population. Subsequently, concentration index is used as a measure of health inequality, which is further decomposed into determining factors to find out the relative contribution of the different socioeconomic predictors. Decomposition estimates suggest that poor economic condition stand to be the dominant contributor to health inequalities among older population followed by illiteracy and rural place of residence. Comparative assessment suggests that socioeconomic inequality is critical for health inequality for the population below 70 years and 70 years and above as well.

In view of population size, scarcity of resources, existing poverty, insufficient health facilities and the absence of a social security system, ageing is going to be a major problem in Bangladesh. Thus, this paper examines how many years the elderly expect to be in good health, and what are the correlates of self-rated health (SRH). The data used in this study come from 896 elderly from Rajshahi district in Bangladesh and from United Nations projected population figures. Results show that individuals at age 60 expected about 41 percent of their remaining life to be in good health, while individuals at age 80 and above expected only 21 percent of their remaining life to be in good health. Having exercised during the 6 months prior to the survey was the single most important correlate of SRH: odds ratio = 5.49 (4.03-7.47) without any adjustment. While rural-urban differentials, gender inequality and some health decline in old age are inevitable, four factors (exercise behaviour, sufficiency of income, physical limitations, and facing abusive behaviour) are to a certain extent modifiable and therefore provide a potential for improvement in SRH and in healthy life expectancy in Bangladesh.

Using the 2011-2012 national baseline of the Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), we document health outcomes of the Chinese elderly and examine the relation between these health outcomes and socio-economic status. CHARLS has a very rich set of health indicators that include both self-reported measures and biomarkers. As expected, we find that Chinese elderly are facing challenges from chronic diseases such as hypertension and underdiagnosis of it is common. Overnutrition has become a bigger problem than undernutrition, reflected as higher rate of overweight but not underweight. The problem is generally more serious for women than for men. Disability rate is also high, especially for rural women, who also report to suffer more from pain. Moreover, we find different health gradients of socio-economic status measured by education and per capita household consumption expenditure.

Some decades go Mexico was a low-income country. Now it is in a middle-income level, albeit full of disparities including poverty. Such socio-economic path has shaped the life course of the elderly population. Development has been slower than the rapid aging process and its effects on health and social security. Emerging chronic diseases are major causes of morbidity, disability and death, along with prevailing infectious diseases. Social security is on the verge of bankruptcy. The macro situation because of aging is complex. Holistic prospective scenarios drafted over a changing age structure foresee and unaffordable epidemiological transition, impossibility to pay vested pension rights, economic insecurity, poverty, inadequate health system. Looking for elucidation such scenarios can be compared with similar experiences in, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica.

Elderly mortality has steadily declined in Scotland since the 1960s despite the persistence of large area differences and a life expectancy that remains below many other Western countries. Population aging will intensify in Scotland as fertility levels are set to remain below replacement level, while old-age mortality will continue to decline. By contrast, the speed of senescence will continue to slow down as older people become more active and health conscious, delaying the onset of chronic disease and reducing mortality. Population aging will therefore have substantial consequences both for individual wellbeing and society (incl. the sustainability of pension, health and care systems). However, to assess these consequences a better understanding of the relationship between individual and population aging is needed since the expansion of the older population will go together with changes in its composition and characteristics.
This study takes a sociodemographic approach to assess the challenges and opportunities of aging populations in different contexts by using data from the Scottish Longitudinal Survey. New aging indicators will be constructed for NHS Board Areas, measuring the elderly population based on years of “remaining” life expectancy. Estimates will also be made for social groups, marital and health status.

Over the last few decades, increasing attention has been paid to the issue of well-being among the elderly, and life satisfaction has been used as an indicator to evaluate older people’s life conditions, reflecting multiple and broad domains. This paper sheds some light on this topic with reference to Italy, a country characterized by an increasing ageing population. The aim is to examine life satisfaction among people aged 65 and older and its predictors. We adopt a gender approach to examine whether literature results, which show that elderly men and women have different sources of satisfaction, are confirmed. In doing this, particular attention is given to the role played by the family and its influence on the life satisfaction of older adults. As a Mediterranean country, Italy is assumed to place special importance on these aspects. The data used come from the cross-sectional surveys “Aspects of Daily Life”, carried out in Italy by the National Statistical Institute (ISTAT). As we considered the latest available surveys (2010 and 2011), we can rely on a large sample and, thus, test several hypotheses about the predictors of older adults’ life satisfaction. The results show unexpected patterns in the determinants of life satisfaction for men and women, and do not confirm previous literature.

Dementia is a major cause of disability and mortality among the elderly, it becomes early onset of dementia, when it occurs before the age of 60years. It is the loss of cognitive abilities, particularly the loss of memory; it is one of the most dreaded conditions of old age. Around 5% of the population aged 65 and above is affected by dementia, and its prevalence rises with the rate nearly doubling every 5 years. The paper examines the effects of EOD on QL of patients. The study used the key informant interview research tool to achieve its aim and objectives, thereby collecting data to answer its research questions. Purposive sampling was used, while ethnographic summary and content analysis were used to analyse the data. The results showed that the quality of life of patients with EOD is generally poor, in that the illness brings about the crippling of finance, loss of memory and independence, loss of position in the society. The study recommends detecting factors that can prevent or postpone the disease, and educating the public on OED. Such interventions would have a major positive public health impact and reduce some of the common fears and anxieties of becoming older.

In recent decades, a profound health transition has been occurring in low and middle-income countries, where non-communicable diseases are becoming increasingly prevalent and coexisting with communicable disease burdens. Common risk factors for the highest-burdend NCDs are modifiable, which could subsequently prevent or reduce NCD burden.
This study uses data from WHO’s Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE), conducted in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa. We examine the prevalence of chronic conditions and preventive health behaviors of the older population, with a focus on urban-rural differentials.
Results indicate that although older rural people had a higher propensity to consume tobacco, alcohol and inadequate fruits/vegetables, they were much more likely to engage in high-level physical activity than their urban counterparts across all six SAGE countries. Furthermore, the higher level of physical activity was carried out in spite of higher disability rates in rural areas. Higher-level physical activity could contribute to lower prevalence of NCDs. The findings provide scope for further benefits from cessation of smoking and heavy drinking, and promotion of healthy diets and increased physical activity levels, particularly among rural older people in low- and middle-income countries.

It is relatively well-known that discriminatory experiences affect psychological well-being of individuals, but little is known if and how perception of social inequality is associated with individual happiness and life satisfaction. Are people who think that their society is unfair likely to have lower levels of happiness and life satisfaction? If so, is there mediating or moderating effects of individual socio-economic status on the relationship between perceived social inequality and happiness and life satisfaction? This study addresses these questions by analyzing the 2009 Korean General Social Survey (KGSS). Ordered logistic regression analyses show that perceived social inequality decreases individual happiness and life satisfaction. Also, it is detected that its effect is not differential but universal across different socio-economic status groups. This finding implies that social justice as well as individual social economic standing is important for happiness of people in a society.

Today in the most countries the increasing of aging population (60 years and more) poses a big challenge to their socio-economic development. Social and economical problems of aging people and rising of healthcare and welfare costs have been complicated and need comprehensive planning and policymaking to solve them. Iran is one of the countries which face the problems of young population. it seems unacceptable to talk about aging people while most of the discussions focus on young population and its problems, but the fact is that some portions of population have been aged.
Relevance of the study:
-Impacts of aging on the socio- economical expenditures of the government.
-Studying demographic, social and economic features of the aging in Iran including sex ratio, migration, life expectancy, literacy and education, Dependence Ratio and...
Documentary method and secondary analysis method will be used for this study. Then by using the data resulted from 1996 -2006 National Population and Housing Census, the Aging will be analyzed and reported.
The prevalence rates handicap were higher in women than men, and increased with age. Disability in the older population of Iran shows familiar prevalence patterns by age and gender.