Healthy Aging After Age 65: A Life-Span Health Production Function Approach

Abstract

This article examines the determinants of healthy aging using Grossman's framework of a health production function. Healthy aging, sometimes described as successful aging, is produced using a variety of inputs, determined in early life, young adulthood, midlife, and later life. A healthy aging production function is estimated using nationally representative data from the 2010 and 2012 Health and Retirement Study on 7,355 noninstitutionalized seniors. Using a simultaneous equation mediation model, we quantify how childhood factors contribute to healthy aging, both directly and indirectly through their effects on mediating adult outcomes. We find that favorable childhood conditions significantly improve healthy aging scores, both directly and indirectly, mediated through education, income, and wealth. We also find that good health habits have positive effects on healthy aging that are larger in magnitude than the effects of childhood factors. Our findings suggest that exercising, maintaining proper weight, and not smoking are likely to translate into healthier aging.

The Effects of Childhood Circumstances on Health in Middle and Later Life: Evidence From China

“…We believe this comprehensive measurement of health status can reflect more information than the commonly used single dimension indicator or "0-1" discrete constructs in the literature (45). In previous research, there is also a measurement that standardizes the averages of multiple healthrelated indicators to obtain a health score (13). In contrast, our approach can better reflect the differential contribution of indicators to the health index, which means some indicators may have higher weights in explaining health status.…”

“…Parental genetics were measured with four variables: (i) parents' longevity (for parents who have passed away, measured as their age at death, and for parents who are alive, measured as their current age); and (ii) whether the respondents' parents are still living (indicators of mother or father still living) (13,41).…”

“…The available evidence indicates that returns on health investment during childhood are higher than in other life stages (11). Recent studies have demonstrated that a wide range of childhood circumstances may lead to health disparity in adulthood (12)(13)(14), such as health and nutrition (15), parents' education levels and family socioeconomic status (16,17), early life development and genetic inheritance (18,19), adverse childhood experiences (12,20), and access to medical services in the community (21). Some of these studies have found that adverse shocks during childhood can adversely affect adult health, while other studies have demonstrated the positive effects of childhood interventions on future health (21,22).…”

Trajectories of Successful Aging Among Older Adults in Aotearoa New Zealand

“…However, self-reported data were available in this study to define successful aging and to measure variables in the model. Self-reported health has been shown to be a valid and reliable measure of overall health ( Ferdows et al, 2018 ).…”

Bibliometric analysis of productivity and keyword trends of articles on physical therapy and aging (1990-2014)

“…on the other hand, there are elder people who enjoy successful ageing, which implies not suffering from chronic diseases and having optimal social engagement and mental health, as well as no physical disability [5]. Moreover, healthy ageing [6] or successful ageing is a multi-domain concept that comprises and transcends good health, and it is made up of a wide spectrum of biopsychosocial factors [7]. Therefore, PT and other health professions play a fundamental part not only in illness, but also in maintaining or improving functionality throughout the cycle of life [8] in order to prevent decreases in quality of life whenever the changes of old age start to appear [9].…”