Oldest Old Mortality in China

We find that the Kannisto model, a two-parameter logistic formula, fits Han Chinese death rates at oldest-old ages better than the Gompertz and four other models. Chinese death rates appear to be roughly similar to Swedish and Japanese rates after age 97 for both males and females. Because reports of age seem to be serviceably reliable up to age 100 and perhaps age 105 in China, we think that this convergence may be mainly due to mortality selection in the heterogeneous Chinese population. We show that in China, as in developed countries, the rate of increase in mortality with age decelerates at very old ages.age, China, models, mortality

The association between resilience and survival among Chinese elderly

Based on the unique longitudinal data of the elderly aged 65+ with a sufficiently large sub-sample of the oldest-old aged 85+ from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, we construct a resilience scale with 7 indicators for the Chinese elderly, based on the framework of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Cox proportional hazards regression model estimates show that, after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics and initial health status, the total resilience score and most factors of the resilience scale are significantly associated with reduced mortality risk among the young-old and oldest-old. Although the causal mechanisms remain to be investigated, effective measures to promote resilience are likely to have a positive effect on longevity of the elderly in China.China, healthy life expectancy, mortality risk, residence, survival

The oldest old and the risk of social exclusion

This article examines whether people aged eighty-five-and-over, referred to throughout as ‘The Oldest Old’, are more likely to suffer from social exclusion than people aged sixty-five to eighty-four. Social Exclusion is defined according to the four dimensions identified in the 1999 Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey. Using data from Understanding Society, the analysis finds that the Oldest Old have a higher likelihood of experiencing social exclusion than people aged sixty-five to eighty-four. These findings illustrate the risks facing the Oldest Old, and highlight the policy challenges presented by ageing western populations

Ageing, Health and Life Satisfaction of the Oldest Old: An Analysis for Germany

This analysis uses data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) and the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to assess the effect of ageing and health on the life satisfaction of the oldest old (defined as 75 and older). We observe a U-shaped relationship between age and levels of life satisfaction for individuals aged between 16 and approximately 65. Thereafter, life satisfaction declines rapidly and the lowest absolute levels of life satisfaction are recorded for the oldest old. This decline is primarily attributable to low levels of perceived health. Once cohort effects are also controlled for, life satisfaction remains relatively constant across the lifespan.life satisfaction, oldest old, health

Mortality and Longevity Projections for the Oldest-Old in Portugal

The mortality decline observed in developed countries over the last decades significantly increased the number of those surviving up to older ages. Mortality improvements are naturally viewed as a positive change for individuals and as a substantial social achievement for societies, but create new challenges in a number of different areas, ranging from the planning of all components of social security systems to labour markets. Understanding mortality and survival patterns at older ages is crucial. In this paper, we compare the results provided by a number of different methods designed to project mortality for the oldest-old in the Portuguese population. We identify the merits and limitations of each method and the consequences of their use in constructing complete life tables

Statins for primary and secondary prevention in the oldest old : an overview of the existing evidence

Hypercholesterolemia, although a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, is still one of the leading causes of death among older people in western countries. The use of statins among cholesterol reducing agents in both primary and secondary prevention has not been extensively studied in older patients in contrast to middle-aged patients. Despite a growing body of evidence in secondary prevention, statins are still under utilized in older patients with established vascular disease. On the other hand, the benefits of statins in primary prevention are not so clear. Therefore, the systematic use of statins in older patients with hypercholesterolemia needs to be further investigated

Subjective well-being and mortality in Chinese oldest old

The present study investigates the relationship between subjective well-being (SWB) and mortality risk, using a large sample (N=7852) from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Study (age range 80-105) conducted in 2000 and 2002. Initially, we intended to contribute to the understanding of system relations between SWB, mortality risk, and unobserved heterogeneity by treating SWB as an endogenous variable, using a multi-process model. However, failure to identify unobserved heterogeneity in the mortality equation prevents us from employing this model. Given this limitation, the study examines three issues. First, we argue that the mortality model with duration dependency on the age of the study subjects is specified and that the model with duration dependency on time since the interview is misspecified. Second, we address problems associated with the identification of unobserved heterogeneity in the mortality equation. Third, we examine the association between SWB and mortality risk in the Chinese oldest old as well as the risk pattern by gender, without considering unobserved heterogeneity. We find that SWB is not a significant predictor of mortality risk when we control for socio-demographic characteristics and health status. Health plays a very important role in the relationship between SWB and mortality risk in the oldest old. Gender differences in the predictive pattern of SWB on this risk are negligible in the sample.China, mortality

Frailty, comorbidity, disability and poor self-rated health: prevalence of overlaps amongst the oldest-old adults from the Hong Kong Centenarian Study.

Posters - Scientific Research (Epidemology)INTRODUCTION: The frailty phenotype includes five characteristics: fatigue, weakness, poor endurance, physical illness and weight loss. Frailty correlates strongly with comorbidity and disability, but their interaction with selfrated health (SRH) amongst the oldest-old adults remains unclear. We examined the prevalence of overlap between frailty, comorbidity, disability and poor SRH amongst the oldest-old adults …published_or_final_versio