Relocation at older age: results from the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study

Background: Community environment might play an important role in supporting ageing in place. This paper aims to explore relocation at older age and its associations with individual and community level factors.

Methods: The postcodes of the 2424 people in the year-10 interview of the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (CFAS) in England were mapped onto Enumeration Districts and linked to their corresponding Townsend deprivation score and the 2011 rural/urban categories. Multilevel logistic regression was conducted to examine the influence of the baseline individual (age, gender, education and social class) and community (rural/urban categories and area deprivation) level factors on relocation over 10 years.

Results: One-third of people moved residence after the age of 65 years and over. Older age, low education, low social class and living in rural areas at baseline were associated with higher probability of moving later in life. The likelihood of relocation in later life increased from least to most deprived areas (odds ratio: 2.0, 95% confidence interval: 1.4, 2.8).

Conclusions: Urban/rural contexts and area deprivation are associated with relocation at older age and indicate that community environment may be relevant to ageing in place.