Is China Moving Towards Healthy Aging? —A tracking study based on 5 phases of CLHLS data

Abstract

Abstract BackgroundMost of the countries are entering an aging society in the world. China has the largest number of elderly people in the world and “healthy aging” is the key way for China to cope with the challenges of population aging. This paper aims to investigate whether there is a trend of "healthy aging" in China using the longitudinal data.MethodsThe data used in this study were from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) data of 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2014. A second-order factor model including four dimensions of physical health, functional status, mental health and social health was constructed to measure a latent variable, “Health_elders” and the structural mean model was further used to the examine the significance of the mean differences in “Health_elders” across five periods.ResultsThe results showed that, with the exception of 2008, the Health_elders in 2002, 2005, 2011 and 2014 displayed an upward trend, and the mean differences in Health_elders across five periods were significant. These findings indicate that on the whole, compared with older people in the past, older people in more recent periods are healthier, which supports the trend of "healthy aging" in China. In terms of groups, the health levels of male, town-residing elderly populations are higher, but the healthy aging trends among female elderly people and rural and urban elderly populations are stronger. Regarding the physical health of the elderly population, the health levels of the 60-74 years old cohort are decreasing, and the participation of elderly individuals in social activities is low, which is the weakness in the healthy aging process in ChinaConclusionThe health status of the elderly population is generally on the rise, indicating that China's aging is moving towards healthy aging. So the government should take more measures to encourage the medical and health system to adapt to the aging situation and requirements as soon as possible.