Gender, childhood and adult socioeconomic inequalities in functional disability among Chinese older adults

International Journal for Equity in Health

Research

Stephen Nicholas¹  Yaqin Zhong²  Jian Wang³ 

[1] School of Management and School of Commerce, Tianjin Normal University, West Bin Shui Avenue, 300074, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China;Guangdong Research Institute for International Strategies, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, 2 Baiyun North Avenue, Baiyun, Guangzhou, 510420, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China;School of International Business, Beijing Foreign Studies University, 19 North Xisanhuan Avenue, Haidian, 100089, Beijing, People’s Republic of China;University of Newcastle, 2308, Newcastle, NSW, Australia;School of Public Health, Nantong University, 9 Seyuan Road, 210029, Nantong, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China;School of Public Health, Shandong University, 44 Wenhuaxi Road, 250012, Jinan, Shandong, People’s Republic of China;

关键词: Gender;    Socioeconomic status;    Inequality;    Functional disability;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12939-017-0662-3

 received in 2017-03-26, accepted in 2017-08-24,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundGender difference and life-course socioeconomic inequalities in functional disability may exist among older adults. However, the association is less well understood among Chinese older population. The objective is to provide empirical evidences on this issue by exploring the association between gender, childhood and adult socioeconomic inequalities in functional disability.MethodsData from the 2013 wave of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) was utilized. Functional disability was assessed by the activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Childhood socioeconomic status (SES) was measured by birthplace, father’s education and occupation. Adult SES was measured in terms of education and household income. Multivariate logistic regressions were conducted to assess the association between gender, childhood and adult SES and functional disability.ResultsBased on a sample of 18,448 older adults aged 45 years old and above, our results showed that the prevalence of ADL and IADL disability was higher among women than men, but gender difference disappeared after adult SES and adult health were controlled. Harsh conditions during childhood were associated with functional disability but in multivariate analyses only father’s education was associated with IADL disability (OR for no education = 1.198; 95% CI = 1.062–1.353). Current SES such as higher education and good economic situation are protective factors of functional disability.ConclusionsChildhood and adult SES were both related to functional disability among older adults. Our findings highlight the need for policies and programs aimed at decreasing social inequalities during childhood and early adulthood, which could reduce socioeconomic inequalities in functional disability in later life.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017