Health lifestyles and Chinese oldest-old’s subjective well-being—evidence from a latent class analysis

Abstract

Background Previous research on the associations between lifestyle behaviors and health has largely focused on morbidity, mortality and disease prevention. More attention should be paid to examining relationships between lifestyle behaviors and positive health outcomes such as well-being. The aim of the study was to classify Chinese oldest-old’s health lifestyles and evaluate the manner in which health lifestyles have impacted Chinese oldest-old’s subjective well-being. Methods Analyzing the 2014 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), latent class analysis was applied to identify predominant health lifestyles among Chinese oldest-old aged 85 to 105. Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression models were used to assess the effects of health lifestyles on Chinese oldest-old’s subjective well-being, adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics. Results Four distinct classes representing health lifestyles emerged. Health lifestyles were found to be strongly associated with Chinese oldest-old’s subjective well-being, even after controlling for demographic features as well as individual and parental socioeconomic disadvantage. Findings showed that healthy lifestyle behaviors stimulated Chinese oldest-old’s positive feelings and led to better evaluative subjective well-being. In contrast, less healthy lifestyle behaviors can be a predictor of negative feelings. Conclusions The regression results highlighted the importance of integrating health lifestyle choices in promoting oldest-old’s psychological well-being. Elders can tackle healthier lifestyle behaviors in their daily lives to reduce the risk of mental health problems. Practicing healthy lifestyles should be integrated in programs for mental health promotion.

A Scoping Review on Biopsychosocial Predictors of Mental Health among Older Adults

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Promoting the well-being of rural elderly people for longevity among different birth generations: A healthy lifestyle perspective

“…Improving the life expectancy of elderly people has become a key goal of the full life cycle of elderly care services. Chinese rural elderly people tend to report higher negative emotions than urban elderly people (9). Helping rural elderly people realize their pursuit of a better and happy life is a major concern of Chinese society.…”

Lifestyle factors, physical health, and life satisfaction among Chinese community-dwelling older adults: a longitudinal analysis

“…For example, poor health status and impairment of physical functioning can increase the risk of older people's depressive symptoms and reduce their life satisfaction (e.g., Carmel et (Kivipelto et al, 2018;Qiu et al, 2020). In contrast, healthy lifestyles contribute to higher levels of subjective well-being among older adults (e.g., Herero & Extremera, 2010;Mo et al, 2022;Zhang et al, 2021). However, these studies applied cross-sectional data for analysis and failed to investigate the longterm effects of older people's lifestyles on their subjective well-being.…”