scholarly journals The contribution of social participation to differences in life expectancy and healthy years among the older population: A comparison between Chile, Costa Rica and Spain

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0248179
Author(s):  
Sarahí Rueda-Salazar ◽  
Jeroen Spijker ◽  
Daniel Devolder ◽  
Cecilia Albala

We study the health trajectories of the population aged over 60, comparing between one European and two Latin American countries (Spain, Chile and Costa Rica) which have similar longevity patterns. Our focus is on functional limitation and mortality risks, considering differences by gender, education and social participation. Data come from national panel surveys (EPS, CRELES, SHARE). Multistate modelling is used to estimate transition probabilities between two health states: healthy to unhealthy, unhealthy to healthy as well as the transition to death from healthy or unhealthy states, to estimate the duration of stay in a specific state (computing healthy and unhealthy life expectancies) and the effect of the selected covariates. Results show that older Costa Ricans have the smallest gender gap in life expectancy but women have a lower healthy life expectancy compared to those in Chile and Spain. Participation in social activities leads to higher healthy life expectancy among the elderly in Costa Rica and Spain, whilst there were no relevant educational differences observed in longevity in the analysed countries. To conclude: despite the different patterns observed in health transitions and survival across the three countries, social participation is associated with greater health and longevity among people of old age, with little effect coming from educational attainment. Public policies should therefore be aimed at reducing unhealthy life years and dependency at advanced ages by promoting more engagement in social activities, especially among vulnerable groups who are more likely to experience impairment from a younger age.

2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. S7-S18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalia Elena Romero ◽  
Iúri da Costa Leite ◽  
Célia Landmann Szwarcwald

The objective of this study is to present the method proposed by Sullivan and to estimate the healthy life expectancy using different measures of state of health, based on information from the World Health Survey carried out in Brazil in 2003. By combining information on mortality and morbidity into a unique indicator, simple to calculate and easy to interpret, the Sullivan method is currently the one most commonly used for estimating healthy life expectancy. The results show higher number of healthy years lost if there is a long-term disease or disability that limits daily activities, regardless of the difficulty in performing such activities or the severity of the functional limitations. The two measures of healthy life expectancy adjusted by the severity of functional limitation show results very similar to estimates based on the perception of state of health, especially in advanced age. It was also observed, for all measures used, that the proportion of healthy years lost increases significantly with age and that, although females have higher life expectancy than males, they live proportionally less years in good health.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 126
Author(s):  
Mariana Mourgova

This article examines the health status of the population in Bulgaria at age 65 by gender during the period 2006-2014. The health status is examined by some of the most frequently used demographic indicators, namely life expectancy, based on mortality data and healthy life years and healthy life expectancy, based on mortality, life expectancy and self-perceived health. The main results show that despite of the observed increase in life expectancy at age 65 in Bulgaria during the period it is the lowest compared to other European countries. The share for both men and women reported their health status as without limitations in respect to daily activities decline, while those reported their health status as good increase. These contradictory facts reflect on the measures of health status. Thus, the trend in healthy life years for both sexes decline over the period, whereas the trend in healthy life expectancy increases. Compared with the other European countries, the expected number of years without limitations in Bulgaria is among the largest, while the healthy life expectancy is the lowest. These differences could be explained by the different levels in mortality and the nature of the measures of health status themselves.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 126
Author(s):  
Mariana Mourgova

This article examines the health status of the population in Bulgaria at age 65 by gender during the period 2006-2014. The health status is examined by some of the most frequently used demographic indicators, namely life expectancy, based on mortality data and healthy life years and healthy life expectancy, based on mortality, life expectancy and self-perceived health. The main results show that despite of the observed increase in life expectancy at age 65 in Bulgaria during the period it is the lowest compared to other European countries. The share for both men and women reported their health status as without limitations in respect to daily activities decline, while those reported their health status as good increase. These contradictory facts reflect on the measures of health status. Thus, the trend in healthy life years for both sexes decline over the period, whereas the trend in healthy life expectancy increases. Compared with the other European countries, the expected number of years without limitations in Bulgaria is among the largest, while the healthy life expectancy is the lowest. These differences could be explained by the different levels in mortality and the nature of the measures of health status themselves.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiling Dong ◽  
Bingyi Wu ◽  
Qunhong Wu

Abstract Background: Child malnutrition is not only common in developing countries, but also an important issue faced by developed countries. This study aimed to explore the influence and degree of childhood starvation on the health of the elderly, which providing a reference for formulating health-related policies under the concept of full-life cycle health. Methods: Based on Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) in 2008, 2011 and 2014, this paper took a total of 13,185 elderly people aged 65-99 years as the target population. By IMaCH software, with age, gender, and income level as the control variables, and the average life expectancy and healthy life expectancy of the elderly was measured. The test was used to explore the differences in socio-economic status of elderly people with or without starvation in childhood. The paired t test was used to analyze the difference both average life expectancy and healthy life expectancy. Results: (1) Transition probabilities in health-disability, health-death, and disability-death all showed an upward trend with age(P<0.05), where the elderly who experienced starvation in childhood were higher than those without such an experience(P<0.05). However, the probability of disability-health recovery showed a downward trend with age(P<0.05), whereas the elderly who experienced starvation in childhood were lower than those without starvation(P<0.05).(2) For the elderly who experienced starvation in childhood, the health indicators of the average life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, and healthy life expectancy proportion accounted for the remaining life were lower than those of the elderly without childhood starvation (P<0.05).Conclusions: The negative impact of childhood starvation on health through the life course till old age, has a persistent negative cumulative effect on the quantity and quality of life for the elderly. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the nutritional status of children in poor families from the perspective of social policy-making.


2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siri H. Storeng ◽  
Steinar Krokstad ◽  
Steinar Westin ◽  
Erik R. Sund

Aims: Norway is experiencing a rising life expectancy combined with an increasing dependency ratio – the ratio of those outside over those within the working force. To provide data relevant for future health policy we wanted to study trends in total and healthy life expectancy in a Norwegian population over three decades (1980s, 1990s and 2000s), both overall and across gender and educational groups. Methods: Data were obtained from the HUNT Study, and the Norwegian Educational Database. We calculated total life expectancy and used the Sullivan method to calculate healthy life expectancies based on self-rated health and self-reported longstanding limiting illness. The change in health expectancies was decomposed into mortality and disability effects. Results: During three consecutive decades we found an increase in life expectancy for 30-year-olds (~7 years) and expected lifetime in self-rated good health (~6 years), but time without longstanding limiting illness increased less (1.5 years). Women could expect to live longer than men, but the extra life years for females were spent in poor self-rated health and with longstanding limiting illness. Differences in total life expectancy between educational groups decreased, whereas differences in expected lifetime in self-rated good health and lifetime without longstanding limiting illness increased. Conclusions: The increase in total life expectancy was accompanied by an increasing number of years spent in good self-rated health but more years with longstanding limiting illness. This suggests increasing health care needs for people with chronic diseases, given an increasing number of elderly. Socioeconomic health inequalities remain a challenge for increasing pensioning age.


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