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Contributions of Geographic, Socioeconomic, and Lifestyle Factors to Quality of Life, Frailty, and Mortality in Elderly in Hong Kong. Prof. Jean Woo Department of Medicine & Therapeutics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Background.
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Contributions of Geographic, Socioeconomic, and Lifestyle Factors to Quality of Life, Frailty, and Mortality in Elderly in Hong Kong Prof. Jean Woo Department of Medicine & Therapeutics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Background • Increasing emphasis on collecting data on disparities in health outcomes • Minimizing these disparities as part of public health improvement (Association of Public Health Observatories, 2009)
Background • Contributory factors to disparities in health outcomes: • Provision & accessibility of health services (Starfield et al, 2005) • Social & psychological factors (Smith et al, 2008; Elstad, 2009) • Physical environment, e.g. air pollution, open spaces (Sun et al, 2008; Mitchell et al, 2008) • Neighbourhood factors, e.g. noise, constant bright light • Personal factors, e.g. SES, lifestyle, life events (Huff et al, 1999; Khaw et al, 2008; Elstad, 2009)
Macro indicators e.g. mortality Individual health descriptors (more holistic indicator of health) e.g. self-rated health, degree of frailty Background • Choices of health outcomes: vs
Background • Few studies in older populations on • disparities in frailty & other health outcomes • contributions of individual & environmental factors to these outcomes
Aims of This Study • To examine district variations in self-rated health, frailty & 4 year mortality in HK Chinese aged >=65 years • To analyze the contributions of lifestyle, SES & geographical location of residence to these health outcomes in this population
Hypothesis • Lifestyle, SES & regional characteristics directly & indirectly through interactions contribute to these health outcomes
Methods • General questionnaire • Demographics • Educational level • Maximum life-time income • Self-rated SES • Smoking • Alcohol use • District of residence (18 districts in HK)
Methods • Physical Activity Scale of the Elderly (PASE) (Washburn et al, 1993) • 12-item scale • no. of hours per day on leisure, household & occupational physical activities over past 1 week
Methods • Dietary intake in past 12 months by validated Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) (Woo et al, 1997) • Calculate daily nutrient intake from overseas & Chinese food tables • Calculate Dietary Quality Index-International (DQI) based on FFQ & calculated nutrient intake
Methods • Dietary Quality Index-International (DQI) (Kim et al, 2003) • an indicator of quality of diet • covers 4 aspects • variety, adequacy, moderation & overall balance • scores between 0-100 • high score represents high quality
Methods • Self-rated health by validated Chinese version of SF-12 (Lam et al, 2005) • SF-12 physical health • SF-12 mental health • 4 year mortality data from the Government Death Registry
Methods • Frailty Index (FI) (Goggins et al, 2005) • summation measure of deficits in physical, functional, psychological, nutritional & social domains • low score represents less frailty • health check questionnaire with list of deficits for FI calculation, e.g. • self-reported medical history • falls history in the past year • body mass index <18.5 kg/m2
Statistical Analysis • Include districts with n>=100 participants • Regression & path analysis • To examine relationship between contributory factors & each health outcome, with adjustment for age & sex • Use Shatin as reference district • SAS version 9.1 • p<0.05 as level of significance
Contributory factors (independent variables) District of residence Self-rated SES Smoking Alcohol use PASE DQI Confounding variables Age Sex Health outcomes (dependent variables) SF-12 physical SF-12 mental FI (log transformed) 4 year mortality Statistical analysis
Results • 11 out of 18 districts with n>=100 • 3611 subjects for analysis (90.3% of original sample)
0.031 Higher SES DQI 0.099* 0.014 0.069* Kowloon City (0.039)* Eastern (0.076)* Yau Tsim Mong (0.038)* -0.034* Alcohol use 0.041* -0.058* SF12-Physical 0.028 a Smoking b c 0.095* d District (Ref: Shatin) PASE Sham Shui Po (0.042)* Eastern (0.045)* Results Path analysis model of SF-12 physical (adjusted for age & sex) a: Tsuen Wan (-0.04)*, Kowloon City (0.042)* b: Eastern (0.043)* c: Kowloon City (-0.058)*, Eastern (-0.082)* d: Kwai Tsing (-0.046)*, Yuen Long (-0.061)*, Kowloon City (-0.050)*, Kwun Tong (-0.045)*, Eastern (-0.052)*, Yau Tsim Mong (-0.057)* *p<0.05 Coefficients within path: standardized from regression
0.031 Higher SES in HK DQI 0.070* 0.014 0.069* -0.034* Alcohol use Kowloon City (0.039)* Eastern (0.076)* Yau Tsim Mong (0.038)* 0.038* -0.058* SF12-Mental -0.034 a b Smoking c 0.022 Tsuen Wan (0.05)* Kwai Tsing (0.039)* Yuen Long (0.037)* Sham Shui Po (0.069)* Eastern (0.062)* Yau Tsim Mong (0.043)* d District (Ref: Shatin) PASE Results Path analysis model of SF-12 mental (adjusted for age & sex) a: Tsuen Wan (-0.04)*, Kowloon City (0.042)* b: Eastern (0.043)* c: Kowloon City (-0.058)*, Eastern (-0.082)* d: Kwai Tsing (-0.046)*, Yuen Long (-0.061)*, Kowloon City (-0.050)*, Kwun Tong (-0.045)*, Eastern (-0.052)*, Yau Tsim Mong (-0.057)* *p<0.05 Coefficients within path: standardized from regression
0.031 Higher SES in HK DQI -0.06* 0.014 -0.086* -0.034* Alcohol use Kowloon City (0.039)* Eastern (0.076)* Yau Tsim Mong (0.038)* -0.08* -0.058* Log (Frailty index) -0.072* a Smoking b c -0.107* Sham Shui Po (-0.052)* d District (Ref: Shatin) PASE Results Path analysis model of FI(log) (adjusted for age & sex) a: Tsuen Wan (-0.04)*, Kowloon City (0.042)* b: Eastern (0.043)* c: Kowloon City (-0.058)*, Eastern (-0.082)* d: Kwai Tsing (-0.046)*, Yuen Long (-0.061)*, Kowloon City (-0.050)*, Kwun Tong (-0.045)*, Eastern (-0.052)*, Yau Tsim Mong (-0.057)* *p<0.05 Coefficients within path: standardized from regression
0.031 Higher SES in HK DQI -0.036* 0.014 -0.054* -0.034* Alcohol use Kowloon City (0.039)* Eastern (0.076)* Yau Tsim Mong (0.038)* -0.013 -0.058* Death 0.011 a b Smoking c -0.051* Kowloon city (-0.055)* Eastern (-0.048)* Yau Tsim Mong (-0.052)* d District (Ref: Shatin) PASE Results Path analysis model of Death (adjusted for age & sex) a: Tsuen Wan (-0.04)*, Kowloon City (0.042)* b: Eastern (0.043)* c: Kowloon City (-0.058)*, Eastern (-0.082)* d: Kwai Tsing (-0.046)*, Yuen Long (-0.061)*, Kowloon City (-0.050)*, Kwun Tong (-0.045)*, Eastern (-0.052)*, Yau Tsim Mong (-0.057)* *p<0.05 Coefficients within path: standardized from regression
Discussion • Our findings • District variation in health outcomes among Chinese elderly in HK • District of residence, SES & lifestyle factors directly & indirectly affect the studied health outcomes • Higher self-rated SES and better lifestyle (e.g. better diet quality, more physically active) contribute to better health outcomes
Discussion • Support findings of previous studies • Both health care systems & lifestyle contribute to variations in health outcomes (Avendano et al, 2009) • Lower mortality rate with a healthier diet and higher physical activity level (Khaw et al, 2008) • Higher SES is associated with decreased ill-health & disability (Siegrist et al, 2006)
Discussion • District factor may have direct contribution to variations in health outcomes • Neighbourhood deprivation is associated with worse health outcomes • Social support, leisure facilities, safety, environmental pollution, crowdedness etc. (van Lenthe, 2006; Ko et al, 2007) • Exert effect partly through psychological mechanisms mediated via neuroendocrine system (McEwen et al, 1999) • Supported by our previous study of district variation in telomere length (Woo et al, 2009)
Limitations • Cross sectional design • Sampling bias • either health conscious or with health problems • higher educational level compared to the general HK population • great variations in no. of participants from each district • No data on life course dimension or detailed district factors
Conclusion • District variations in health outcomes exist in the Hong Kong elderly population • These variations result directly from district factors, & are indirectly mediated through SES position & lifestyle • Future studies on district factors in reducing health disparities in the older population Reference: Woo J et al. (2010) Relative Contributions of Geographic, Socioeconomic, and Lifestyle Factors to Quality of Life, Frailty, and Mortality in Elderly. PLoS ONE 5(1): e8775. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008775