Main description:

Key research in the world’s largest aging population – in China – has fed into this important new work, which aims to answer questions critical to older people worldwide. These include: is the period of disability compressing or expanding with increasing life expectancy and what factors are associated with these trends in the recent decades? And is it possible to realize morbidity compression with a prolongation of the life span in the future? Essential reading for gerontologists.

Feature:

Deals with the determinants of healthy longevity in China, the most populous country with the largest elderly population in the world

Written by distinguished experts in the field of healthy aging/ longevity addressing strategically important issues of “living longer and healthier”

Back cover:

China is aging at an extraordinary speed and has the largest quantity of elderly persons in the world. Scholars utilize this unprecedented living experience of human being and the unique Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) datasets with the aim to answer in this volume the following questions critical to the aging population world wide. Is the period of disability compressing or expanding with increasing life expectancy and what factors are associated with these trends in the recent decades? Is it possible to realize morbidity compression with a prolongation of the life span in the future?

The first section of the book presents the CLHLS project’s study design, sample distribution, contents of data collected, and assessments of age reporting and data quality. The remaining chapters are grouped into sections dealing with the demographic, social, economic, familial and psychological dimensions of healthy longevity.

This volume contributes to the development of scientific knowledge related to the "slowing down" of the pace of progression of morbidity with mortality declines at older ages. Research findings reported in this book are instrumental in the ultimate realization of the long-term dream of healthy longevity, that is, not only living longer, but living a healthier life.

"The research in this book captures the highlight of a decade of effort on CLHLS study and represents an important milestone in our emerging understanding of how individuals can endeavor to live a long, healthy life and how societies can help them do so. We still have only a partial understanding of the determinants of healthy longevity, but we have a considerably better understanding than we had a decade ago. Moreover, we can look forward to prospects for a deeper understanding based in significant measure on the further analysis of data from the ongoing CLHLS endeavor."

-- James W. Vaupel, Director of Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research and Professor of Duke University

"The CLHLS casts valuable light on important features of the aging process in the world's largest country. This volume will serve as a basic reference work both for Chinese studies and for comparative analyses."

-- Samuel Preston, Frederick Warren Professor of Demography, University of Pennsylvania

"The CLHLS is a fantastic enterprise which started 10 years ago and which will leave a benchmark of the social, economic, and familial situation of the Chinese elderly at the time when they comprised 7% of the whole population and when China entered a new period of accelerated aging. From now on population aging in China and its social consequences, as well as individual lengthening of life and its health consequences will be carefully assessed in reference to the CLHLS. We dream to have such studies for the other large countries on the point of also experiencing similar demographic changes"

-- Jean-Marie Robine, Research Director at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research and Professor of University of Montpellier

Contents:

Preface: James W. Vaupel,- Acknowledgement,- Chapter 1: Introduction: Aging and Aged Dependency in China: Dudley L. Poston, Jr. and Zeng Yi,- Part I: CLHLS and Its Data Quality Assessment: Dudley L. Poston, Jr.,- Chapter 2: Introduction to the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS): Zeng Yi,- Chapter 3: General Data Quality Assessment of the CLHLS: Danan Gu,- Chapter 4: Reliability of Age Reporting among the Chinese Oldest-old in the CLHLS Datasets: Zeng Yi and Danan Gu,- Chapter 5: Age Reporting in the CLHLSL A Re-assessment: Heather Booth and Zhongwei Zhao,- Chapter 6: Assessment of Reliability of mortality and Morbidity in the 1998-2002 CLHLS Waves: Danan Gu and Matthew E. Dupre,- Part II: The Effects of demographic and Socioeconomic Factors: Danan Gu,- Chapter 7: The Effects of Sociodemographic Factors on the Hazard of Dying Among Chinese Oldest Old: Dudley L. Poston, Jr. and Hosik Min,- Chapter 8: When I’m 104: The Determinants of Healthy Longevity among the Oldest-old in China: Dennis A. Ahlburg, Eric Jensen, and Ruyan Liao,- Chapter 9: Association of Education with the Longevity of the Chinese Elderly: Jianming Li,- Chapter 10: Analysis of Health and Longevity in the Oldest-Old Population – A Health Capital Approach: Zhong Zhao,- Chapter 11: The More Engagement, the Better? A Study of Mortality of the Oldest Old in China: Rongjun Sun and Yuzhi Liu,- Part III: Living Arrangements and Elderly Care: Zeng Yi: Chapter 12: living Arrangements and Psychological Disposition of the Oldest Old Population in China: Zheng Wu and Christoph M. Schimmele,- Chapter13: Health and Living Arrangement Transitions among China’s Oldest-old: Zachary Zimmer,- Chapter 14: Intergenerational Support and Self-rated Health of the Elderly in Rural China: An Investigation in Chaochu, Anhui Province: Lu Song et al,- Chapter 15: The Effects of Adult Children’s Caregiving on the Health Status of Their Parents: Protection or Selection?: ZhenZhang,- Chapter 16: The Challenge to Healthy Longevity Inequality in Health Care and Mortality in China: Zhongwie Zhao,- Part IV: Subjective Wellbeing and Disability: Denese Ashbaugh Vlosky: Chapter 17: Successful Ageing of the Oldest-Old in China: Peng Du,- Chapter 18: Impairments and Disability in the Chinese and American Oldest-Old Population: William P. Moran, Sihan LV, and G. John Chen,- Chapter 19: Tooth Loss among the Elderly in China: Yun Zhou and ZhenZhen Zheng,- Chapter 20: Psychological Resources for Well-Being Among Octogenarians, Nonagenarians, and Centenarians: Differential Effects of Age and Selective Mortality: Jacqui Smith, Denis Gerstorf and Qiang Li,- Chapter 21: An Exploration of the Subjective Well-Being of the Chinese Oldest-Old: Deming Li, Tianyong Chen, and Zhengyun Wu,- Chapter 22: Social Support and Self-Reported Quality of Life: China’s Oldest-old: Min Zhou and Zhenchao Qian,- Chapter 23: Mortality Predictability of Seld-Rated Health among the Chinese Oldest Old: A Time-Varying Covariate Analysis: Qianh Li and Yuzhi Liu,- Chapter 24: Gender Differences in the Effects of Self-rated Health Status on Mortality among the Oldest-old in China: Jiajian Chen and Zheng Wu,- Chapter 25: Epilogue: Future Agenda: Zeng Yi