Association between social capital and health-related quality of life among left behind and not left behind older people in rural China

Abstract

BackgroundThe association between social capital and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has not been thoroughly studied among older persons in rural China, especially among those who were left behind or not. This study investigates the association between social capital and HRQoL and examines possible differences of this association between being left behind or not in rural China.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of 825 people aged 60 years and older, residing in three rural counties in Jiangsu Province in China, was conducted in 2013. Factor analysis was performed to measure social capital. EQ-5D was used to measure HRQoL. Tobit regression analysis with upper censoring was conducted to explore the association between social capital and EQ-5D index.ResultsAfter controlling for individual characteristics, low social capital and being left behind were significantly associated with low HRQoL. Old people with low social capital had 0.055 lower EQ-5D index compared to those with high social capital. Old people being left behind had 0.040 lower EQ-5D index compared to those who were not left behind. For different dimensions of social capital, the main effects came from the domain of trust and reciprocity. There was a significant interaction between low social capital and being left behind on HRQoL, suggesting that low social capital was associated with low HRQoL among persons left behind.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that the left behind old people with low social capital were a potentially vulnerable group in rural China. Formulating and implementing initiatives and strategies which increase social capital may foster better HRQoL, especially for old people who were left behind.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi: 10.1186/s12877-017-0679-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Health Risk Assessment Indicators for the Left-Behind Elderly in Rural China: A Delphi Study

“…Forlani et al and Houtjes et al pointed out that the gender, age, and the educational level were related to the physical and mental health of the elderly [16,17]. Williams et al pointed out that religious beliefs, educational level, marital status, and family support can affect the quality of life of the elderly [18,19]. Xie et al showed that types of chronic diseases, living style, and financial support of children of the left-behind elderly in rural areas are influencing factors of mental health [20].…”

The role of rural areas in the preservation of health

“…Based on this comparison the health prospect of rural population is weaker than the health prospect of the urban population in Australia as well [64]. The health chances of the rural old people and mainly the chances of the left behind old people in the countryside cannot reach the level of the urban old people in China [65]. Basic health care is hardly provided in Hungarian urban areas as well where an increasing number of medical doctors and dentists working in the basic health care are missing [66].…”

Left-Behind Status Worsens Prognosis of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Elderly Patients from Southwest China

“…Because of the increasing popularity of leaving the elderly behind, more researchers are now focusing on this special population [ 4 , 5 ]. It is clear that those left behind suffer from poorer mental and physical health outcomes, such as depression, anxiety, and cognitive impairment [ 6 ].…”

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