IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0204237.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Association of socioeconomic status and health-related behavior with elderly health in China

Author

Listed:
  • Fubaihui Wang
  • Qingkai Zhen
  • Kaigang Li
  • Xu Wen

Abstract

Previous health studies have focused on the correlation between socioeconomic status (SES) and health. We pooled data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (N = 9765) conducted in 2011, and examined the association of SES and health-related behavior with elderly health in China. The cumulative health disadvantage of the elderly caused by SES can be relieved by lifelong health-related behavior. In the same SES, the odds of self-rated health (SRH) as “good,” mini-mental state examination (MMSE) as “not impaired,” and activities of daily living (ADLs) as “not impaired” among the elderly who exercised regularly, were 46.9%, 28.6%, and 62.3% lower for the elderly who rarely exercised. The elderly who started doing regular exercise from 30 years old, achieved higher SRH, ADL, and MMSE scores to some extent. The health improvement advantage for the elderly who started doing regular exercises after 60 years old, was reduced. However, the odds of SRH as “good,” MMSE as “not impaired,” and ADLs as “not impaired” were still 3.4%, 12.5%, and 17.8%, respectively, higher than the respondents who never exercised. The health-related behaviors not only promote elderly health improvement, but its duration has also been found to be associated with the extent of health improvement.

Suggested Citation

  • Fubaihui Wang & Qingkai Zhen & Kaigang Li & Xu Wen, 2018. "Association of socioeconomic status and health-related behavior with elderly health in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(9), pages 1-14, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0204237
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204237
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0204237
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0204237&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0204237?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Angus Deaton, 2003. "Health, Inequality, and Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 41(1), pages 113-158, March.
    2. West, Patrick, 1991. "Rethinking the health selection explanation for health inequalities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 373-384, January.
    3. Jylhä, Marja, 2009. "What is self-rated health and why does it predict mortality? Towards a unified conceptual model," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 307-316, August.
    4. Laaksonen, M. & Rahkonen, O. & Martikainen, P. & Lahelma, E., 2005. "Socioeconomic position and self-rated health: The contribution of childhood socioeconomic circumstances, adult socioeconomic status, and material resources," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(8), pages 1403-1409.
    5. Mark Hayward & Bridget Gorman, 2004. "The long arm of childhood: The influence of early-life social conditions on men’s mortality," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 41(1), pages 87-107, February.
    6. Steven Haas, 2007. "The long-term effects of poor childhood health: An assessment and application of retrospective reports," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(1), pages 113-135, February.
    7. Zeng Yi & Danan Gu & Kenneth Land, 2007. "The association of childhood socioeconomic conditions with healthy longevity at the oldest-old ages in China," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(3), pages 497-518, August.
    8. Elstad, Jon Ivar & Krokstad, Steinar, 2003. "Social causation, health-selective mobility, and the reproduction of socioeconomic health inequalities over time: panel study of adult men," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(8), pages 1475-1489, October.
    9. Schrijvers, C.T.M. & Stronks, K. & Van De Mheen, H.D. & Mackenbach, J.P., 1999. "Explaining educational differences in mortality: The role of behavioral and material factors," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 89(4), pages 535-540.
    10. Ming Wen & Danan Gu, 2011. "The Effects of Childhood, Adult, and Community Socioeconomic Conditions on Health and Mortality among Older Adults in China," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(1), pages 153-181, February.
    11. Zeng Yi & James W. Vaupel & Xiao Zhenyu & Zhang Chunyuan & Liu Yuzhi, 2002. "Sociodemographic and Health Profiles of the Oldest Old In China," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 28(2), pages 251-273, June.
    12. Demakakos, Panayotes & Nazroo, James & Breeze, Elizabeth & Marmot, Michael, 2008. "Socioeconomic status and health: The role of subjective social status," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 330-340, July.
    13. Zeng, Y. & Gu, D. & Purser, J. & Hoenig, H. & Christakis, N., 2010. "Associations of environmental factors with elderly health and mortality in china," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(2), pages 298-305.
    14. Graham, Hilary, 2002. "Building an inter-disciplinary science of health inequalities: the example of lifecourse research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 55(11), pages 2005-2016, December.
    15. Rahkonen, Ossi & Lahelma, Eero & Huuhka, Minna, 1997. "Past or present? Childhood living conditions and current socioeconomic status as determinants of adult health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 327-336, February.
    16. Zeng Yi & Danan Gu & Kenneth Land, 2007. "Erratum to: The association of childhood socioeconomic conditions with healthy longevity at the oldest-old ages in China," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(4), pages 1-1, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mihaela Ghența & Aniela Matei & Luise Mladen-Macovei & Maria Denisa Vasilescu & Elen-Silvana Bobârnat, 2021. "Sustainable Care and Factors Associated with Quality of Life among Older Beneficiaries of Social Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-15, February.
    2. Yan Feng & Erpeng Liu & Zhang Yue & Qilin Zhang & Tiankuo Han, 2019. "The Evolutionary Trends of Health Behaviors in Chinese Elderly and the Influencing Factors of These Trends: 2005–2014," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-17, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mäkinen, Tomi & Laaksonen, Mikko & Lahelma, Eero & Rahkonen, Ossi, 2006. "Associations of childhood circumstances with physical and mental functioning in adulthood," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(8), pages 1831-1839, April.
    2. Brandt, Martina & Deindl, Christian & Hank, Karsten, 2012. "Tracing the origins of successful aging: The role of childhood conditions and social inequality in explaining later life health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(9), pages 1418-1425.
    3. Min Gao & Yanyu Li & Shengfa Zhang & Linni Gu & Jinsui Zhang & Zhuojun Li & Weijun Zhang & Donghua Tian, 2017. "Does an Empty Nest Affect Elders’ Health? Empirical Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, April.
    4. Ko, Pei-Chun & Yeung, Wei-Jun Jean, 2019. "Childhood conditions and productive aging in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 60-69.
    5. Ming Wen & Danan Gu, 2011. "The Effects of Childhood, Adult, and Community Socioeconomic Conditions on Health and Mortality among Older Adults in China," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(1), pages 153-181, February.
    6. Chen, Xi, 2022. "Early Life Circumstances and the Health of Older Adults: A Research Note," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1158, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    7. Shen, Ke & Zeng, Yi, 2014. "Direct and indirect effects of childhood conditions on survival and health among male and female elderly in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 207-214.
    8. Hong Zou & Qianqian Xiong & Hongwei Xu, 2020. "Does Subjective Social Status Predict Self-Rated Health in Chinese Adults and Why?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 152(2), pages 443-471, November.
    9. Hoffmann, Rasmus & Kröger, Hannes & Geyer, Siegfried, 2019. "Social Causation Versus Health Selection in the Life Course: Does Their Relative Importance Differ by Dimension of SES?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 141(3), pages 1341-1367.
    10. Ploubidis, George B. & Benova, Lenka & Grundy, Emily & Laydon, Daniel & DeStavola, Bianca, 2014. "Lifelong Socio Economic Position and biomarkers of later life health: Testing the contribution of competing hypotheses," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 258-265.
    11. Huang, Cheng & Soldo, Beth J. & Elo, Irma T., 2011. "Do early-life conditions predict functional health status in adulthood? The case of Mexico," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 100-107, January.
    12. Bauldry, Shawn & Shanahan, Michael J. & Boardman, Jason D. & Miech, Richard A. & Macmillan, Ross, 2012. "A life course model of self-rated health through adolescence and young adulthood," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(7), pages 1311-1320.
    13. Haas, Steven, 2008. "Trajectories of functional health: The 'long arm' of childhood health and socioeconomic factors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(4), pages 849-861, February.
    14. Zhang, Zhenmei & Gu, Danan & Hayward, Mark D., 2010. "Childhood nutritional deprivation and cognitive impairment among older Chinese people," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(5), pages 941-949, September.
    15. Dong, Hao & Lee, James Z., 2014. "Kinship matters: Long-term mortality consequences of childhood migration, historical evidence from northeast China, 1792–1909," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 274-283.
    16. Akachi, Yoko & Canning, David, 2010. "Health trends in Sub-Saharan Africa: Conflicting evidence from infant mortality rates and adult heights," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 273-288, July.
    17. Rasmus Hoffmann & Hannes Kröger & Siegfried Geyer, 2019. "Social Causation Versus Health Selection in the Life Course: Does Their Relative Importance Differ by Dimension of SES?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 1341-1367, February.
    18. Campbell, Cameron D. & Lee, James Z., 2009. "Long-term mortality consequences of childhood family context in Liaoning, China, 1749-1909," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(9), pages 1641-1648, May.
    19. Elizabeth M. Lawrence & Richard G. Rogers & Anna Zajacova, 2016. "Educational Attainment and Mortality in the United States: Effects of Degrees, Years of Schooling, and Certification," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(4), pages 501-525, August.
    20. Moorman, Sara M. & Carr, Kyle & Greenfield, Emily A., 2018. "Childhood socioeconomic status and genetic risk for poorer cognition in later life," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 219-226.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0204237. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.