Population aging at cross-roads: diverging secular trends in average cognitive functioning and physical health in the older population of Germany

This paper uses individual-level data from the German Socio-Economic Panel to model trends in populaton health in terms of cognition, physical fitness, and mental health between 2006 and 2012. The focus is on the population aged 50-90. We use a repeated population-based cross-sectional design. As outcome measures, we use SF-12 measures of physical and mental health and the Symbol-Digit Test (SDT) that captures cognitive processing speed. In line with previous research we find a highly significant 'Flynn effect' on cognition; i.e., SDT scores are higher among those who were tested more recently (at the same age). This result holds for men and women, all age groups, and across all levels of education. While we observe a secular improvement in terms of cognitive functioning, at the same tme, average physical and mental health has declined. The decline in average physical health is shown to be stronger for men than for women and found to be strongest for low-educated, young-old men aged 50-64: the decline over the 6-year interval in average physical health is estimated to amount to about 0.37 SD, whereas average fluid cognition improved by about 0.29 SD. This pattern of results at the populaton-level (trends in average population health) stands in interesting contrast to the positive association of physical health and cognitive functionig at the individual-level. The findings underscore the multi-dimensionality of health and the aging process

Overworked or underemployed? Actual and preferred household employment patterns in the context of the economic crisis

This article revisits work hour mismatches at the couple level. Most of what has been published on actual and preferred employment arrangements of couples in Europe is based on international survey data from the late 1990s. The aim is to present new data on couples' actual and preferred employment arrangements using data from Round 5 of the European Social Survey (2010-2012). The article discusses trends in the degree to which couples' employment arrangements are in line withe preferences and how work hour mismatches may be related to the current economic crisis

Measuring the effect of institutional change on gender inequality in the labour market

This article examines the differential impact of labour market institutions on women and men. It carries out longitudinal analyses using repeat cross-sectional data from the EU Labour Force Survey 1992–2007 as well as time series data that measure institutional change over the same period. The results contribute to the literature on gendered employment, adding important insights into the impact of labour market institutions over and above family policies that have been the focus of most prior studies on the topic. We find differential effects of institutional change on male and female outcome. Our findings challenge the neo-classical literature on the topic. While our results suggest that men benefit more clearly than women from increases in employment protection, we do not find support for the neo-classical assertion that strong trade unions decrease female employment. Instead, increasing union strength is shown to have beneficial effects for both men's and women's likelihood of being employed on the standard employment contract. Furthermore, in line with other researchers, we find that rising levels of in kind state support to families improve women's employment opportunities

Strong or Weak Handgrip? Normative Reference Values for the German Population across the Life Course Stratified by Sex, Age, and Body Height

Handgrip strength is an important biomarker of healthy ageing and a powerful predictor of future morbidity and mortality both in younger and older populations. Therefore, the measurement of handgrip strength is increasingly used as a simple but efficient screening tool for health vulnerability. This study presents normative reference values for handgrip strength in Germany for use in research and clinical practice. It is the first study to provide normative data across the life course that is stratified by sex, age, and body height. The study used a nationally representative sample of test participants ages 17–90. It was based on pooled data from five waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel (2006–2014) and involved a total of 11,790 persons living in Germany (providing 25,285 observations). Handgrip strength was measured with a Smedley dynamometer. Results showed that peak mean values of handgrip strength are reached in men’s and women’s 30s and 40s after which handgrip strength declines in linear fashion with age. Following published recommendations, the study used a cut-off at 2 SD below the sex-specific peak mean value across the life course to define a ‘weak grip’. Less than 10% of women and men aged 65–69 were classified as weak according to this definition, shares increasing to about half of the population aged 80–90. Based on survival analysis that linked handgrip strength to a relevant outcome, however, a ‘critically weak grip’ that warrants further examination was estimated to commence already at 1 SD below the group-specific mean value

Is Population Ageing Decelerating in Terms of Cognition?

Higher chronological age tends to be associated with lower cognitive functioning in all cohorts. However, in light of increasing healthy life expectancy, people of a certain age today may perform better in terms of cognition than people of the same age in the past. To test this contention, we use tests of cognitive functioning collected in the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) in two points in time with a 6-year interval. Focusing on the population aged 50 and above, we investigate change over time in cognitive functioning along three dimensions (memory, verbal fluency, and speed of processing). Results based on a repeat cross-sectional design that overcomes potential bias from retest effects suggest that cognitive functioning has improved across survey waves on all of these dimensions. This indicates an extension of significant Flynn effects (which have mainly been studied in children, adolescents, and young adults) to older populations. We find significant secular improvements in cognitive functioning for both women and men, across age groups and educational strata. Several explanations are proposed that go beyond the role of education as the initial driver of the cohort cognitive improvements

Contextualizing the education effect on women's employment: a cross-national comparative analysis

The authors examine 'how and why' the effect of education on women's employment varies cross-nationally. First, they present a theoretical model that (a) outlines the micro-level mechanisms underlying education effects on women's employment in the couple context and (b) proposes contextual moderators at the country level. Second, they test the theoretical model against survey data from the United Nations' Generations and Gender Programme for 5 European countries (Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, and Norway). The data comprise 10,048 educationally homogamous heterosexual couples involving a woman age 20-45. The results indicate that more highly educated couples are more likely to have dual-earner arrangements in each country, yet the strength of education effects varied substantially between countries and across the family life cycle. In contrast to prior work, the authors find that education effects are not generally smaller in countries that are supportive of women's employment. This relation holds only for later child-rearing phases

Thresholds for clinical practice that directly link handgrip strength to remaining years of life: estimates based on longitudinal observational data

Objective Muscle strength is a powerful predictor of mortality that can quickly and inexpensively be assessed by measuring handgrip strength (HGS). What is missing for clinical practice, however, are empirically meaningful cut-off points that apply to the general population and that consider the correlation of HGS with gender and body height as well as the decline in HGS during processes of normal ageing. This study provides standardised thresholds that directly link HGS to remaining life expectancy (RLE), thus enabling practitioners to detect patients with an increased mortality risk early on. Design Relying on representative observational data from the Health and Retirement Study, the HGS of survey participants was z-standardised by gender, age and body height. We defined six HGS groups based on cut-off points in SD; we use these as predictors in survival analyses with a 9-year follow-up and provide RLE by gender based on a Gompertz model for each HGS group. Participants 8156 US American women and men aged 50–80 years. Main outcome measures Z-standardised HGS and all-cause mortality. Results Even slight negative deviations in HGS from the reference group with [0.0 SD, 0.5 SD) have substantial effects on survival. RLE among individuals aged 60 years with standardised HGS of [−0.5 SD, 0.0 SD) is 3.0/1.4 years lower for men/women than for the reference group, increasing to a difference of 4.1/2.6 years in the group with HGS of [−1.0 SD, −0.5 SD). By contrast, we find no benefit of strong HGS related to survival. Conclusions HGS varies substantially with gender, age and body height. This confirms the importance of considering these heterogeneities when defining reference groups and risk thresholds. Moreover, survival appears to decrease at much higher levels of muscle strength than is assumed in previous literature, suggesting that medical practitioners should start to become concerned when HGS is slightly below that of the reference group

Is children’s education associated with parental health? Evidence from the Philippines

This study examines the association between children’s education and parental health using data from the 2007 Philippine Study on Ageing. It employs a broad, more comprehensive, definition of health to capture the different health dimensions. By employing multiple indicators of health, this study is able to examine whether the influence of children's education is consistent across different health indicators. It also investigates whether parental behavior and receipt of support from children serve as pathways that mediate the relationship between children’s education and parental health. Findings show that older women whose children completed tertiary education have lower odds of reporting IADL or ADL difficulty compared with their counterparts whose children attained below tertiary education. These findings contribute to the growing evidence that education is not only an individual resource; rather it could be a household or family resource that could benefit other family members