Feng Zeyun, Cramm Jane Murray, Jin Chunlin, Twisk Jos, Nieboer Anna Petra
Department of Socio-Medical Sciences, Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, 3000, DR. Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Department of Health Technology Assessment, Shanghai Health Development Research Center (Shanghai Medical Information Center), Jianguo Road 602, Shanghai, 200031, China.
SSM Popul Health. 2020 Jul 29;11:100636. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2020.100636. eCollection 2020 Aug.
The vital role of active social participation in older people's lives is widely acknowledged. The maintenance of adequate levels of social participation is an essential element of successful aging. Low income may inhibit older people from engaging in social activities. Given its recent rapid economic growth, China provides a unique setting for the study of changes in income and social participation among older people over time. In this study, the longitudinal relationship between income and social participation among Chinese older people was investigated using a nationally representative dataset from three waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). At baseline, a total of 3863 participants with a mean age of 60.4 years (range: 50-89) were included in our study; 49.9% of the participants were female, and 64.4% lived in rural areas. Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze the longitudinal relationship between income and social participation, with and without adjustment for background variables (age, gender, marital status, educational level, empty-nest status, area of residence, and multimorbidity). The results of unadjusted and adjusted analyses clearly showed a longitudinal association between income and social participation. People from the highest income group were almost two times more likely to participate in social activities than were those from the lowest income group. People with a higher educational level are also more likely to participate in social activities compared to people with a lower educational level. Being married and living with children decreased the odds of social participation. Social participation is also less likely among older aged and those living in rural areas. Our findings indicate that higher income levels are associated positively with social participation over time among older people in China.
积极的社会参与在老年人生活中的重要作用已得到广泛认可。维持适当水平的社会参与是成功老龄化的一个基本要素。低收入可能会阻碍老年人参与社会活动。鉴于中国近期经济的快速增长，它为研究老年人收入和社会参与随时间的变化提供了一个独特的环境。在本研究中，我们使用来自中国健康与养老追踪调查（CHARLS）三轮全国代表性数据集，对中国老年人收入与社会参与之间的纵向关系进行了调查。在基线时，我们的研究共纳入了3863名平均年龄为60.4岁（范围：50 - 89岁）的参与者；49.9%的参与者为女性，64.4%居住在农村地区。我们使用广义估计方程来分析收入与社会参与之间的纵向关系，同时考虑和不考虑背景变量（年龄、性别、婚姻状况、教育水平、空巢状况、居住地区和多种疾病）的调整。未调整和调整后的分析结果清楚地表明了收入与社会参与之间的纵向关联。最高收入组的人参与社会活动的可能性几乎是最低收入组的两倍。与教育水平较低的人相比，教育水平较高的人也更有可能参与社会活动。已婚和与子女同住会降低社会参与的几率。老年人和农村地区居民参与社会活动的可能性也较小。我们的研究结果表明，随着时间的推移，在中国老年人中，较高的收入水平与社会参与呈正相关。
