Who works at older ages? the correlates of economic activity and temporal changes in their effects: evidences from India

India is an ageing population. A large informal sector provides ample scope to absorb human resources even at older ages. Therefore, like other developing countries a large proportion of older adults in India lead an economically active life. The present study investigates the association of various factors namely, gender, household per capita monthly expenditure, place of residence, education, marital status, age etc. with the state of being economically active. For this purpose three nationally representative samples that were collected as a part of the national sample survey (NSS) are utilized. These samples represent the older adult population of India during the periods 1986-87, 1995-96 and 2004. The logistic regression models are then applied to estimate the effects of all these factors. These effects are analyzed and changes in these effects are compared over time points. In a nutshell the states of the variables that are conducive to being economically active are being male, residing in rural areas and lower educational levels. Ill health on the other hand adversely affects the probability of being economically active. The study emphasizes the need for taking care of the health needs of the older adults to help them remain active for longer duration.ageing; economic activity; older adults

A statistical exposition of the state of empowerment at older ages in India

Well-being is desired and drives all ages and all societies. Empowerment is a means to well-being. The issue of empowerment endures at older ages also. Addressing this issue is central as the Indian population continues to age. The present work examines the state of autonomy in financial matters namely, the management of owned assets and the management of owned property, as autonomy is a manifestation of empowerment. For this purpose, data sets from the 42nd and the 52nd round of the National Sample Survey have been made use of. The associations of states of financial autonomy with various socioeconomic factors are investigated using logit models. The results show that when controlled for various socioeconomic factors the older men are 2.78 times more likely than the older women to participate in the management of the owned property. They are also 3.09 times more likely than their female counterparts to participate in the management of owned assets. Older adults who are not employed, who are financially dependent, who have difficulty in mobility and who suffer from chronic diseases are less likely to be autonomous in managing their financial resources.agency, assets, empowerment, India, older adults, property

An Analysis of the State of Empowerment of Females vis-à-vis Males at Old Ages in India

The problem of ageing population in the developing countries has a special gender dimension as females not only outnumber males among older adults, but also differ from their male counterparts with respect to economic status, marital status and health status. The state of well being of older adults is understood partially by their level of empowerment. Importance of social, economic and health aspects in daily life makes it worth to investigate the empowerment of older female vis-à-vis older males in social, economic and health spheres. Active participation in either or both of social and economic matters indicates that an older adult has a decision making role in either or both of the two matters. Thus, active participation of older adults in socio-economic matters is an indicator of their empowerment. The present study addresses these issues using the 42nd Round data of the National Sample Survey (NSS). This study defines certain empowerment indicators and investigates their variation and interrelationships across the provinces. A three tier conceptual framework consisting of individual, household and social characteristics has been proposed to find out the factors that are associated with empowerment. The gender dimension of the state of empowerment has also been investigated. The findings establish that certain diseases and economic dependence adversely affect the state of empowerment of older adults. Currently married older females are found more empowered than other older females. The findings emphasize the need of providing greater support to older females in India for maintaining good health and economic condition.ageing, autonomy, empowerment, older adults, role, status

Atrophy of the Tongue as the Presenting Feature of Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed solid organ cancer in men and is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men in the United Kingdom. Commonly, it metastasizes to bones and lymph nodes, however, in advanced hormonerefractory disease it may involve the skull base leading to associated cranial nerve palsies. Cranial nerve palsy as the presenting feature of advanced hormone-sensitive prostate cancer is extremely rare. To the best of our knowledge, we report the first case of solitary hypoglossal nerve palsy as the presenting feature of advanced prostate cancer. Neurologists, neurosurgeons and otolaryngologists may be the first clinicians to see such a patient; therefore, prostate cancer should be amongst the differential diagnoses considered in middle-aged and elderly men presenting with a cranial neuropathy and evidence of skull metastasis

Health at Old Ages in India: Statistical Exposition of Its Socio-Cultural and Gender Dimensions

This work attempts to develop a conceptual framework to model health of older adults (OA) in India in association with various socio-economic and cultural (SEC) factors. For this purpose, four different populations of OAs are considered namely rural male (RM), rural female (RF), urban male (UM) and urban female (UF). The data from the 60 th Round of the National Sample Survey (NSS) (2004) has been used for the purpose. Diseases and disabilities are two aspects of the health of OAs. These aspects are measured by the count of diseases and the count of disabilities suffered by an OA. Empirical evidence indicates that models based on the Poisson distribution and the Negative Binomial distribution are appropriate respectively to model these aspects of health. The association between these two aspects is not found to be strong in all the four populations. But these aspects are found to be significantly associated with various SEC factors. The effects of age, marital status and number of children are significant in case of diseases. Education has effect in rural areas alone and the effect of caste differentials is visible in case of female populations only. Religion has significant effect in rural areas only. The effects of household economic status and economic dependency are also significant. The type of economic activity of a household also affects disease prevalence among the male populations. The amount of land possessed by a household affects the disease prevalence among rural OA only. In the case of disabilities, age and economic dependency of the OAs have significant effect in all the OA populations. Marital status has significant effect only for disabilities among RF, UM and UF populations. Disabilities among UM and RM are associated with education and caste respectively. Religion plays a significant role in the cases of disabilities among rural population

Ageing and the socioeconomic life of older adults in India: An empirical exposition

The study attempts to approach the ageing in India from three perspectives, namely, the well being of an ageing individual, the ageing household and the ageing population. The aspects, namely, work, financial dependence, integration, empowerment and elder abuse are studied and their relation to age, gender and marital status is investigated. The data sets pertaining to the National Sample Surveys for the reference periods 1986-87, 1995-96 and 2004 are primarily utilized for the purpose. The data sets from Building Knowledge Base on Population Ageing in India Survey, 2011 are also utilized for information on elder abuse. The results show that the older males are more likely to participate in household activities when compared to the older females. The married older adults are also more likely to participate in household activities when compared to their widowed counterparts. In a similar way gender and marital status are found to be associated with empowerment of older adults. The working older adults, those who possess property and / or assets are more likely to be financially independent. Further, the older females and the financially dependent older adults are more likely to face abuses of different kinds. Households are classified into three different types. Type- I households have no older adults, Type – II households have older adults and other younger members and Type – III households have older adults only. Results show that Type – III households are found to be relatively more deprived and report higher average monthly expenditure when compared to other types of households

A statistical exposition of the state of empowerment at older ages in India

Well-being is desired and drives all ages and all societies. Empowerment is a means to well-being. The issue of empowerment endures at older ages also. Addressing this issue is central as the Indian population continues to age. The present work examines the state of autonomy in financial matters namely, the management of owned assets and the management of owned property, as autonomy is a manifestation of empowerment. For this purpose, data sets from the 42nd and the 52nd round of the National Sample Survey have been made use of. The associations of states of financial autonomy with various socioeconomic factors are investigated using logit models. The results show that when controlled for various socioeconomic factors the older men are 2.78 times more likely than the older women to participate in the management of the owned property. They are also 3.09 times more likely than their female counterparts to participate in the management of owned assets. Older adults who are not employed, who are financially dependent, who have difficulty in mobility and who suffer from chronic diseases are less likely to be autonomous in managing their financial resources

What makes them feel healthier? the correlates of self-perceived health among older adults in India

The physical, the mental and the social well-being constitute the health of an individual and a population in general. For populations passing through demographic transition, the life expectancies at various ages show an increasing trend over time. To ensure healthy ageing, in such populations, the later part of the life span of an individual should be free from chronic diseases and impairments. In this context, the prevailing health scenario is best measured in terms of the disease free life expectancies and the disability free life expectancies. At the individual level, the number of diseases and the number of impairments one suffers from give an account of his/her health. Besides these objective measures of health, the self-perceived health (also called the self-reported health) has received due attention in recent literature. This is due to its strong association with the life expectancy on one hand and with the future state of health on another. Moreover, including self-perceived health (SPH) in accounting for an individual’s health is akin to giving him/her a say in his/her assessment of own health. Furthermore, it is opined that SPH captures those hidden aspects of health that go unnoticed otherwise. The present study investigates the socioeconomic factors associates with the SPH for the older adults in India. Data pertaining to two sample surveys with a country-wide coverage (the 52nd and the 60th round of the National Sample Survey) of the older adults have been made use of for this purpose. SPH is usually measured on a 3-5 point ordinal scale in a relative perspective (comparing the present state of health with the state of health in an earlier reference period) or in a global perspective (absolute statement about the present state of health). The present study models the SPH (in a global perspective), measured on a 3-point ordinal scale, for its association with the immediate socioeconomic environment of the older adults using an ordinal logit regression model. The immediate socioeconomic environment of an older adult consists of the living arrangements, the financial dependence, the marital status, the number of children, the economic status of the household, the caste, the religion and the geographic region. Further, these associations have been studied after controlling for the objective measures of health, namely, the diseases, the impairments, the immobility and the relative state of health. The results indicate that the objective measures of health (the severity of immobility, the number of impairments and the number of diseases) and the relative change in the state of health during past one year contribute maximum to the information on the perception of the present state of health. This is quite obvious. Although, the information provided by immediate socioeconomic environment is lesser, it is not insignificant. SPH was found better for more educated older adults. The financial dependence and poor status of the household reduce the chances of better SPH. On the other hand co-residence and large sized households increase the chances of better SPH. The older adults in rural areas are less likely to perceive a better health status when compared to their urban counterparts. It is quite obvious from the findings that SPH, which is an indicator of the future state of health, is found to be associated not only with the present state of health but also with the prevailing socioeconomic conditions of the older adults. The solution to better health, thus, has socioeconomic components that need appropriate and timely redress

Ageing and the socioeconomic life of older adults in India: An empirical exposition

The study attempts to approach the ageing in India from three perspectives, namely, the well being of an ageing individual, the ageing household and the ageing population. The aspects, namely, work, financial dependence, integration, empowerment and elder abuse are studied and their relation to age, gender and marital status is investigated. The data sets pertaining to the National Sample Surveys for the reference periods 1986-87, 1995-96 and 2004 are primarily utilized for the purpose. The data sets from Building Knowledge Base on Population Ageing in India Survey, 2011 are also utilized for information on elder abuse. The results show that the older males are more likely to participate in household activities when compared to the older females. The married older adults are also more likely to participate in household activities when compared to their widowed counterparts. In a similar way gender and marital status are found to be associated with empowerment of older adults. The working older adults, those who possess property and / or assets are more likely to be financially independent. Further, the older females and the financially dependent older adults are more likely to face abuses of different kinds. Households are classified into three different types. Type- I households have no older adults, Type – II households have older adults and other younger members and Type – III households have older adults only. Results show that Type – III households are found to be relatively more deprived and report higher average monthly expenditure when compared to other types of households

Social context and the burden of ill health among the older adults in India

The present study investigates the state of health of the older adults in India from a socioeconomic and cultural perspective. It is based on a countrywide representative sample of 29420 older adults, which was collected as a part of the 60th round of the National Sample Survey in 2004. The state of physical health is defined in terms of the count of chronic diseases and the count of impairments suffered by an older adult. A conceptual framework consisting of the socioeconomic and cultural factors, that are relevant to the life of the older adults, is proposed to model the association between the physical health and the socioeconomic and cultural factors. The findings based on the Poisson regression models affirm the association between ill health and the state of financial dependence. Further, the older males are found to have higher number of expected count of chronic diseases and impairments when compared to the older females. Similarly, the widowed older adults experience a higher expected count of chronic diseases and impairments when compared to their currently married counterparts. Other factors namely, education, living arrangements, economic affluence of the household, place of residence, caste and religion are also found to play significant role in determining the health of the older adults