Inter-regional and intra-regional disparities in health of Chinese older population

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the inter-regional and intra-regional health disparities among Chinese older adults, in particular in terms of the effects of socioeconomic status on health outcomes. METHOD: The data was derived from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. 7611 respondents aged 60 and above were included. Physical health was measured by functional health and morbidity. Mental health was measured by depressive symptoms. Eastern coastal regions were recoded as “Eastern” and the other regions were recoded as “Western”. Socioeconomic status was measured by income and education. FINDINGS: Respondents from rural Western regions reported worst health outcomes. The health disparities between rural and urban areas in the Western region were larger than those in Eastern region. The findings indicated that social institutions provide or limit the social resources and opportunities that are available to individuals based on their status hierarchy in the society, and further affect their health outcomes.