Objective: To analyze the dimensions of health status among the Chinese elderly.
Methods: Through unbalanced sampling method, 16 219 elderly aged above 65 were sampled from 22 provinces of China. The activities of daily living (ADL), physical performance, cognitive function, self-reported health and life satisfaction were investigated. We conducted comparative dimensions of health analysis across age, genders and rural/urban residences.
Results: Among the male elderly aged 65-, 70-, 80-, 90- and 100-, 98.8% (730/739), 95.2% (1445/1518), 89.1% (1913/2147), 76.3% (1447/1897) and 51.6% (329/638) were ADL independent, respectively. The corresponding percentages among the female counterparts were 98.1% (654/667), 94.9% (1291/1361), 87.2% (1851/2124), 70.0% (1888/2699) and 46.8% (1136/2428), respectively (gender difference in ADL: chi(2) = 293.00, P < 0.01). Among the urban elderly aged 65-, 70-, 80-, 90- and 100-, the percentages were 98.0% (561/572), 93.6% (1090/1165), 85.5% (1413/1653), 69.3% (1311/1892) and 37.4% (434/1161) respectively. The corresponding percentages among the rural counterparts were 98.7% (823/834), 96.0% (1646/1714), 89.8% (2351/2618), 74.9% (2024/2704) and 54.1% (1031/1905) respectively (urban/rural difference in ADL: chi(2) = 85.97, P < 0.01). Among the male elderly aged 65-, 70-, 80-, 90- and 100-, 96.5% (713/739), 90.0% (1364/1516), 72.1% (1547/2145), 49.2% (929/1890) and 35.0% (218/623) had good cognitive function. The corresponding percentages among the female counterparts were 94.1% (627/666), 81.9% (1113/1359), 57.2% (1211/2116), 32.4% (870/2688), 17.5% (418/2395) respectively (gender difference in cognitive function: chi(2) = 893.89, P < 0.01). Among the urban elderly aged 65-, 70-, 80-, 90- and 100-, the percentages were 97.0% (555/572), 87.9% (1023/1164), 68.5% (1129/1648), 43.6% (820/1881) and 23.0% (258/1124) respectively. The corresponding percentages among the rural counterparts were 94.2% (785/833), 85.0% (1454/1711), 62.3% (1629/2613), 36.3% (979/2679) and 20.0% (378/1894), respectively (urban/rural difference in cognitive function: chi(2) = 57.92, P < 0.01). Among the male elderly aged 65-, 70-, 80-, 90- and 100-, the self-reported good health were 56.3% (416/739), 50.7% (770/1518), 46.0% (988/2148), 42.7% (809/1897) and 43.1% (175/638). The corresponding percentages among the female counterparts were 48.7% (325/667), 46.1% (627/1361), 43.0% (914/2124), 39.3% (1061/2699) and 34.5% (838/2428). The male elderly of each age group reported better health than the female counterparts (chi(2) = 233.91, P < 0.01). Among the male elderly aged 65-, 70-, 80-, 90- and 100-, 56.2% (415/739), 56.0% (850/1518), 55.7% (1194/2418), 52.9% (1003/1897) and 50.5% (322/638) self-reported satisfied life. The corresponding percentages among the female counterparts were 54.9% (366/667), 55.8% (759/1361), 53.9% (1144/2124), 50.6% (1365/2699) and 43.4% (1054/2428). The elderly aged 65- have no significant gender difference in self-reported life (chi(2) = 0.51, P = 0.916), while the male elderly aged 70 and above reported more satisfied life than the female counterparts (chi(2) = 218.25, P < 0.01).
Conclusion: Percentages of good physical performance and normal cognitive function dropped dramatically as age increased, but percentages of reporting good health and satisfied life decreased very slowly as age increased. Rural elderly were significantly more active in daily living than urban elderly. Female elderly were seriously disadvantaged in ADL, physical performance, cognitive function and self-reported health as compared with their male counterparts.