No open-access location is known for this record yet.
No open-access location is known for this record yet.
Successful aging1 has become the new paradigm in gerontology. The factors of successful aging are multidimensional and various, and some are modifiable and could transfer to useful intervention strategies. On the practice or policy level, a comprehensive strategy framework that integrates all the effective successful aging strategies is needed. The current study examined the effects of five types of successful aging strategies (healthy lifestyle,2-4 strengthening social support,5 social participation,6, 7 preparing the mindset for old age,8, 9 financial security10) on reducing the risks of morbidity, disability, and mortality. Data were taken from the Taiwanese Longitudinal Survey on Aging, a longitudinal panel survey of face-to-face interviews with a random sample of individuals aged 60 and older of the entire elderly population in Taiwan since 1989 and followed up every 3 or 4 years. A supplemental sample of individuals aged 50 to 64 was added since 1996. The samples used in this study were those collected from 1996 to 2007, in total 5,131 respondents. Dependent variables included morbidity (diabetes mellitus, heart disease, stroke, cancer, respiratory disease, stomach disease, liver or gallbladder disease), disability (difficulties or needing assistance with activities of daily living), mental health (depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment), and mortality (defined according to the death certificate record data linked to the survey). Five types of successful aging strategies were included: healthy behaviors, providing and receiving social support, social participation and leisure activities, independent attitude toward old age, and private insurance. Control variables included age, sex, years of education, marital status, number of children, financial satisfaction, assets, and self-rated health. Descriptive and Cox regression analyses were used. All participants who had reported chronic diseases at baseline and those who were disabled or died were excluded from the Cox regression model. The cumulative incidence of chronic diseases over the 11 years ranged from 4.0% to 18.4%. The cumulative incidence of depressive symptoms was 29.0%. The incidence of ADL difficulty was 13.2%, and the incidence of ADL disability was 9.5%. The cumulative incidence of cognitive impairment was 24.7%. In addition, 25.2% of participants died. The hazard ratios of the successful aging strategies to health outcomes over the 11-year period are shown in Table 1. In general, four of the five types of successful aging strategies (except private insurance) were found to be associated with health outcomes. Currently smoking and quitting smoking were associated with higher risk of heart disease, respiratory disease, and stomach disease and greater risk of mortality, although stopping smoking reduced health risks. Having a health examination was related to greater morbidity and mortality, possibly because older Taiwanese adults were more aware than younger individuals of their health problems and thus more likely to undergo health examinations and be diagnosed with a disease. Working can lower the risks of some morbidities, disability, and mortality. The retirement age has been increased to 65 in Taiwan, and an increasing number of older people accept the idea of active aging and not merely retiring as early as possible. One interesting finding is that traveling (as leisure) was related to lower risk, even for 1-day trips, particularly for older women. It is possible that such trips are relaxing and provide an occasion for interacting with family and social network members. One-day domestic trips for leisure, which were also good for health, were less expensive than international trips but still provided health benefits. Research has usually focused on the relationship between receiving social support and health, but providing support to other people is also good for health. Feeling masterful and useful to society and people by helping others is important for older people; such feelings may thus promote well-being and health. When older people have a more-independent attitude, they have lower risk of mortality. Adult children are expected to support elderly parents in traditional Taiwanese culture, but older people are currently becoming more financially and psychologically independent of their adult children. For those who are financially dependent, the government should provide necessary assistance from social welfare. Successful aging strategies may reduce the risks of disability and mortality and be useful for avoiding some morbidity. A comprehensive health promotion program for older people should include various successful aging strategies, and geriatric professionals should provide comprehensive and multidimensional advice to older adults in the community. Conflict of Interest: The editor in chief has reviewed the conflict of interest checklist provided by the authors and has determined that the authors have no financial or any other kind of personal conflicts with this paper. The research was supported by Grant 101–2410-H-468–008-MY2 from the National Science Council, Taiwan, Republic of China, Taiwan. The Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan, Republic of China provided the data. The interpretation and conclusions contained herein do not necessarily represent those of the Health Promotion Administration. This study obtained approval of the Research Ethics Committee of Central Regional Research Ethics Center, Taiwan (CRREC-101–062). Author Contributions: Hsu: study concept and design, obtaining data, interpretation of results, writing the manuscript. Chang: study design, analysis strategy, data analysis, interpretation of results, writing the manuscript. Sponsor's Role: The sponsor of this study (the National Science Council, Taiwan, Republic of China, Taiwan) was not involved in the design, methods, subject recruitment, data collection, analysis, or preparation of the paper.
Loading…
Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 13 citations exist upstream.
Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.
Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.