Trends in functional limitations among middle-aged and older adults in the Asia-Pacific: survey evidence from 778,507 observations across six countriesResearch in context

Summary: Background: There are few studies comparing health status trends among middle-aged and older adults in countries currently experiencing a rapid demographic and economic transition in the Asia-Pacific, relative to their high-income regional counterparts. This study investigates trends in fu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marie Ishida, Sumit Kane, Teralynn Ludwick, Victoria Fan, Ajay Mahal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:The Lancet Regional Health. Western Pacific
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266660652400261X
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846111754554179584
author Marie Ishida
Sumit Kane
Teralynn Ludwick
Victoria Fan
Ajay Mahal
author_facet Marie Ishida
Sumit Kane
Teralynn Ludwick
Victoria Fan
Ajay Mahal
author_sort Marie Ishida
collection DOAJ
description Summary: Background: There are few studies comparing health status trends among middle-aged and older adults in countries currently experiencing a rapid demographic and economic transition in the Asia-Pacific, relative to their high-income regional counterparts. This study investigates trends in functional limitations among individuals aged 45 years and above in six major Asia-Pacific countries, ranging from middle- to high-income, from 2001 to 2019 and examines disparities across socioeconomic and demographic sub-groups. Methods: Data on 778,507 individuals from seven surveys in three high-income countries (Australia, Japan, South Korea) and three middle-income countries (China, Indonesia, and India) were used. Activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and mobility measures served as indicators of functional limitations. Age-standardized prevalence was used to assess prevalence trends in functional limitations and their distribution across sex and age. Multivariate linear probability models were used to examine whether the patterns still hold when controlling for birth cohorts and socioeconomic and demographic factors. Findings: People aged 45 years and above in Australia, Japan, and South Korea experienced declines in functional limitations, whereas increases were observed in India and Indonesia. The findings for China were unclear and varied depending on the indicator. Changes in prevalence of functional limitations over time were more pronounced among people aged over 60 years. Higher prevalence of functional limitations was observed for respondents with lower education and among those are not currently married across countries. Interpretation: Study findings highlight the potential for cross-national learning to address functional limitations among older populations in low- and middle-income countries. Funding: Not applicable.
format Article
id doaj-art-481b3e077ace4686b0f101aac304dfb3
institution Kabale University
issn 2666-6065
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series The Lancet Regional Health. Western Pacific
spelling doaj-art-481b3e077ace4686b0f101aac304dfb32024-12-23T04:19:36ZengElsevierThe Lancet Regional Health. Western Pacific2666-60652025-01-0154101267Trends in functional limitations among middle-aged and older adults in the Asia-Pacific: survey evidence from 778,507 observations across six countriesResearch in contextMarie Ishida0Sumit Kane1Teralynn Ludwick2Victoria Fan3Ajay Mahal4Nossal Institute for Global Health, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, 32 Lincoln Square, Carlton, 3053, Australia; Corresponding author.Nossal Institute for Global Health, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, 32 Lincoln Square, Carlton, 3053, AustraliaCenter for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, 207 Bouverie Street, Carlton, 3053, AustraliaCenter for Global Development, Washington, DC, USANossal Institute for Global Health, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, 32 Lincoln Square, Carlton, 3053, AustraliaSummary: Background: There are few studies comparing health status trends among middle-aged and older adults in countries currently experiencing a rapid demographic and economic transition in the Asia-Pacific, relative to their high-income regional counterparts. This study investigates trends in functional limitations among individuals aged 45 years and above in six major Asia-Pacific countries, ranging from middle- to high-income, from 2001 to 2019 and examines disparities across socioeconomic and demographic sub-groups. Methods: Data on 778,507 individuals from seven surveys in three high-income countries (Australia, Japan, South Korea) and three middle-income countries (China, Indonesia, and India) were used. Activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and mobility measures served as indicators of functional limitations. Age-standardized prevalence was used to assess prevalence trends in functional limitations and their distribution across sex and age. Multivariate linear probability models were used to examine whether the patterns still hold when controlling for birth cohorts and socioeconomic and demographic factors. Findings: People aged 45 years and above in Australia, Japan, and South Korea experienced declines in functional limitations, whereas increases were observed in India and Indonesia. The findings for China were unclear and varied depending on the indicator. Changes in prevalence of functional limitations over time were more pronounced among people aged over 60 years. Higher prevalence of functional limitations was observed for respondents with lower education and among those are not currently married across countries. Interpretation: Study findings highlight the potential for cross-national learning to address functional limitations among older populations in low- and middle-income countries. Funding: Not applicable.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266660652400261XPopulation ageingFunctional limitationsAsia-PacificADLDisability
spellingShingle Marie Ishida
Sumit Kane
Teralynn Ludwick
Victoria Fan
Ajay Mahal
Trends in functional limitations among middle-aged and older adults in the Asia-Pacific: survey evidence from 778,507 observations across six countriesResearch in context
The Lancet Regional Health. Western Pacific
Population ageing
Functional limitations
Asia-Pacific
ADL
Disability
title Trends in functional limitations among middle-aged and older adults in the Asia-Pacific: survey evidence from 778,507 observations across six countriesResearch in context
title_full Trends in functional limitations among middle-aged and older adults in the Asia-Pacific: survey evidence from 778,507 observations across six countriesResearch in context
title_fullStr Trends in functional limitations among middle-aged and older adults in the Asia-Pacific: survey evidence from 778,507 observations across six countriesResearch in context
title_full_unstemmed Trends in functional limitations among middle-aged and older adults in the Asia-Pacific: survey evidence from 778,507 observations across six countriesResearch in context
title_short Trends in functional limitations among middle-aged and older adults in the Asia-Pacific: survey evidence from 778,507 observations across six countriesResearch in context
title_sort trends in functional limitations among middle aged and older adults in the asia pacific survey evidence from 778 507 observations across six countriesresearch in context
topic Population ageing
Functional limitations
Asia-Pacific
ADL
Disability
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266660652400261X
work_keys_str_mv AT marieishida trendsinfunctionallimitationsamongmiddleagedandolderadultsintheasiapacificsurveyevidencefrom778507observationsacrosssixcountriesresearchincontext
AT sumitkane trendsinfunctionallimitationsamongmiddleagedandolderadultsintheasiapacificsurveyevidencefrom778507observationsacrosssixcountriesresearchincontext
AT teralynnludwick trendsinfunctionallimitationsamongmiddleagedandolderadultsintheasiapacificsurveyevidencefrom778507observationsacrosssixcountriesresearchincontext
AT victoriafan trendsinfunctionallimitationsamongmiddleagedandolderadultsintheasiapacificsurveyevidencefrom778507observationsacrosssixcountriesresearchincontext
AT ajaymahal trendsinfunctionallimitationsamongmiddleagedandolderadultsintheasiapacificsurveyevidencefrom778507observationsacrosssixcountriesresearchincontext