Health and Care Dependency of Older Adults in Dresden, Germany: Results from the LAB60+ Study

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Abstract

As the population in Europe ages, an increased focus on the health of older adults is necessary. The purpose of the population-based LAB60+ study was to examine the current health and care situation of the population of older adults in Dresden, Germany, and to assess the effect of age, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES) on health outcomes. In the first half of 2021, 2399 out of 6004 randomly sampled residents of Dresden aged 60 years or older answered questions on their chronic conditions, care dependency, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and well-being, among others. Of the participants, 91.6% were afflicted with at least one chronic condition, and 73.1% had multimorbidities. More than one-tenth (11.3%) of participants were care dependent. Lower levels of HRQoL and well-being were observed compared to a published German reference population, perhaps because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Gender differences were observed for some chronic health conditions, and women had a higher risk for lower HRQoL, well-being, and depressivity compared to men. A low SES was associated with a higher risk of the vast majority of health outcomes. Particularly, socioeconomic factors and gender-related inequalities should be considered for the development of prevention and health-promoting measures during late life.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number11777
JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume19
Issue number18
Publication statusPublished - 18 Sept 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 85138341162
ORCID /0000-0002-0015-5120/work/142239847
ORCID /0000-0002-0241-7032/work/142251540
PubMed 36142050
PubMedCentral PMC9517330
ORCID /0009-0006-4498-7267/work/157768256

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • health-related quality of life, healthy ageing, mental health, multimorbidity, need for care, older adults, physical health, well-being