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Determinants of Successful Aging Using a Multidimensional Definition Among Chinese Elderly in Singapore

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Objective:

Most studies of successful aging have used restricted definitions based on the absence of disability and identified a small number of predictors. The authors aimed to examine whether a broad multidimensional definition of successful aging has good construct validity and identified a wider range of predictors that are relevant for multifaceted interventions.

Methods:

Cross-sectional and longitudinal data analyses were performed on 1,281 community-living Chinese elderly of 65 years and above in the Singapore Longitudinal Aging Study cohort. Successful aging was measured in multiple dimensions of functioning and wellness: cognitive and affective status, physical health, social functioning and engagement and life satisfaction, and a summary composite measure created across dimensions to form a dichotomous variable. Potential determinants included sociodemographic, psychosocial, behavioral variables.

Results:

Successful aging was determined in 28.6% of respondents and in multivariate models was significantly (p <0.05) associated with age (OR = 0.90), female gender (OR = 1.37), ≥6 years of education (OR = 2.31), better housing (OR = 1.41), religious or spiritual beliefs (OR = 1.64), physical activities and exercise (OR = 1.90), and low or no nutritional risk (OR = 2.16).

Conclusion:

In contrast to findings based on more restricted biomedical definitions of successful aging, a multidimensional definition of successful aging identified more variables including demographic status, psychosocial support, spirituality, and nutrition as salient determinants.

Section snippets

Study Participants

This study formed part of the ongoing Singapore Longitudinal Aging Study (SLAS), a prospective community-based epidemiological cohort study of aging and health, which has been described previously.15 The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of National University of Singapore and participants signed written informed consent. Residents who were physically or mentally incapacitated to give informed consent or participate were excluded. During recruitment and baseline data

RESULTS

We interviewed 1,281 Chinese elderly, aged 65 or older, with mean age of 72.1 year (SD 5.8); 60% were women and 67% had primary education or below. Among them, 61.2% were found to be cognitively and emotionally well functioning; 47.9% were reportedly physically healthy and independent; 78.4% reported high social functioning; and 88.2% reported positive life satisfaction. Overall, 28.6% met the multidimensional criteria for successful aging (Table 1).

Table 2 compares sociodemographic,

DISCUSSION

The data in this study supported the construct and predictive validity of a proposed multidimensional model and operational definition of successful aging in Chinese seniors. It demonstrated good convergent validity with concurrent health status and health care use parameters and predicted subsequent levels of quality of life. By virtue of its broad multidimensional construct, successful aging was shown to be associated with a multiplicity of demographic, environmental, psychosocial, and

CONCLUSION

In contrast to studies based on more restricted biomedical definitions of successful aging that showed a preponderance of health-related determinants, this study identified more demographic, psychosocial, and behavioral determinants including nutrition and spirituality in a multidimensional construct of successful aging among Chinese elderly populations.

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  • Cited by (0)

    This research was supported by a grant (03/1/21/17/214) from the Biomedical Research Council (BMRC).

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