Population aging presents not only socioeconomic challenges but also unlocks the potential of the silver economy. This study examines how digital finance, as a transformative force, drives consumption among older adults and reduces consumption inequality, thereby contributing to more inclusive aging societies. Using household-level data from the China Family Panel Studies (2018–2022) and a two-way fixed effects model, we establish a robust positive effect of digital finance on consumption among older adults. This effect operates through two key pathways: by elevating absolute household income and by mitigating relative income disparities. Importantly, we demonstrate that digital finance significantly narrows consumption inequality within the older adult population. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that these benefits are particularly pronounced for rural residents, low-income households, and the young-old cohort. Our findings highlight digital finance not merely as a tool for market expansion but as a viable policy instrument for fostering inclusive growth and enhancing the material foundations of welfare in an aging society.
Finland, like other countries, has introduced pension reforms with the goal of extending working lives. While working longer is often possible for those in good health and in jobs with adequate working conditions, this might not be feasible for those who work in physically demanding jobs. This study investigates the relation between physically demanding work and the risk of labor market exit. It also analyses whether workers can delay exit by timely changing to a less arduous occupation. We use full population register data and follow workers born in years 1955–1959 from ages 50 to 62 or until they permanently stop working (N persons = 161,412, N person-years = 1,816,660). These data are combined with occupation-level job exposure matrices. Using discrete-time survival analysis, we estimate associations of occupations’ exposure to physical arduousness, as well as changes in arduousness, with the risk of labor market exit. We find that working in more physically demanding occupations at age 50 increased the subsequent risk of exit, although the effect was reduced after controlling for selection into arduous work. For those who start out in the most physically demanding occupations, changing to a less demanding occupation can meaningfully lower the risk of exit if the decrease in arduousness is sufficient.
In the United Kingdom, population health worsened significantly during the period of austerity that was implemented following the 2008 Financial Crash. When analysing these trends in older adults, the field of social gerontology has increasingly used the concept of Later Life Precarity to understand the exposure to numerous, intersecting risks that individuals face when ageing in this social and political environment. However, there has been limited quantitative analysis of Later Life Precarity and its effects on health. Accordingly, this study uses data on 8553 adults aged 50 + from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing to examine the forms that precarity takes in later life and its associations with health. We firstly describe configurations of risk that make up precarity experienced by older adults across the domains of finances, pensions, employment, housing, relationships and caregiving. We then use Multilevel Analysis of Individual Heterogeneity and Discriminatory Accuracy (MAIHDA) to identify precarious intersections of risk associated with especially elevated frailty levels. The MAIHDA model identified a number of forms of precarity that were associated with particularly high frailty, with the strongest random effect being observed for women who are divorced, widowed and/or living alone and who lack financial and pensions security. In the context of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, these findings demonstrate how frailty emerges at the intersection of numerous social risks and, furthermore, highlight the cost (both to the individual and to healthcare systems) of policies that fail to provide a secure and equitable environment for our ageing population.
End-of-life migration to sacred places constitutes a distinctive and understudied form of later-life mobility, wherein older adults migrate to pursue spiritual fulfilment and prepare for death. Although previous research has addressed ageing, religion, and migration as separate phenomena, there has been limited scholarly attention to the ways in which elderly migrants experience and practice spirituality within sacred environments during the final stages of life. This study investigates the lived experiences, devotional practices, and well-being of elderly migrants residing in ashrams in Varanasi, India, a city widely associated with liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Grounded in the concept of embodied devotion, the study explores how spirituality is enacted through bodily practices, disciplined routines, and sacred dwelling in later life. A convergent mixed-methods design was employed, combining a survey of 110 elderly migrants with ethnographic observation and semi-structured interviews conducted across selected ashrams in Varanasi. A Composite Embodied Devotion Index (EDI) was developed to assess the intensity of devotional engagement. The findings reveal that migration is primarily motivated by spiritual aspirations and is sustained through ritual participation, ascetic discipline, communal worship, and daily devotional routines. Although participants experienced physical frailty and age-related health challenges, they demonstrated high levels of spiritual satisfaction, emotional resilience, inner peace, and reduced fear of death. Ashrams served as significant spiritual and social infrastructures that provided belonging, meaning, and existential support. This study advances scholarship on ageing, migration, lived religion, and sacred landscape by illustrating how embodied devotion enables older adults to address vulnerability, death, and spiritual aspiration within a sacred landscape. The findings underscore the importance of culturally grounded spiritual environments in supporting well-being and end-of-life care among ageing populations.
Population ageing has intensified concern over whether frailty-related dependency weakens labour-market participation in later life, especially in middle-income settings where many older adults remain economically active. Thailand is an important case because rapid ageing coexists with continued work at older ages, much of it in informal and physically demanding sectors. This study examines whether frailty-related care needs are associated with labour supply among older adults in Thailand using official province-level statistics. The core inferential dataset is a 2024 ecological cross-section covering all 77 provinces. Three labour-supply outcomes are analysed: employment during the previous 12 months, employment during the previous 7 days, and desire to work. The main explanatory variable is the provincial caregiver-need rate, treated as an indicator of dependency-related frailty. Ordinary least squares models include region indicators and controls for health status, falls, age structure, and Universal Coverage Scheme share, with sensitivity checks using alternative health controls, population weighting, and exclusion of Bangkok. Across specifications, higher caregiver-need rates are consistently associated with lower labour supply among older adults. In the baseline models, a one-percentage-point increase in caregiver needs is associated with a 1.02-percentage-point lower 12-month employment rate, a 0.86-point lower 7-day employment rate, and a 1.02-point lower desire-to-work rate. The results indicate that dependency-related frailty is closely linked to weaker labour-market attachment among older adults in Thailand.
This study identified latent profiles of depression among older adults in the early post-retirement period and explored how life expectations and government policies are associated with these profiles. Additionally, it examined the relationship between these profiles and life satisfaction after retirement. The research utilized longitudinal data from KLoSA, provided by the Korea Employment Information Service. Using a sample of 269 participants who responded in both the 6th and 8th waves of the survey, we identified four latent profiles: Contentment Group—low depression, positive outlook on life; Sorrowful Heart Group—moderate depression, a strong tendency toward sadness; Dissatisfaction and Complaints Group—low depression, but highest dissatisfaction with life; and Apathy Group—highest depression levels. Significant antecedents for these profiles included expectations for economic and social improvement, national-level old-age security, and stable latter life due to the National Pension System. The analysis showed that health, economic status, spousal and child relationships, and overall life quality varied significantly across profiles. While the Contentment Group showed high levels of health, economic status, and strong relationships with spouses and children, the Sorrowful Heart Group recorded lower overall satisfaction than the Apathy Group. Based on these findings, we discuss implications for predicting and preventing depressive symptoms in retirees through a resource management approach.
As the global population continues to age, it becomes imperative for nations to adapt and implement policies that ensure the dignity and well-being of their older citizens. Margaret Mead’s words resonate here: “The way a society treats its older people reflects the values and principles it holds dear.” Correspondingly, this article explores the pressing necessity for comprehensive legal protections in Malaysia, particularly focusing on individuals of advanced age and the potential advantages of establishing legal frameworks. This study aims to safeguard their rights and well-being by conducting a thorough legal context analysis, examining concepts related to legal protections for the ageing population, existing laws in Malaysia and other jurisdictions, and socio-cultural factors influencing the development and implementation of such laws. Accordingly, by identifying gaps in the current legal framework and drawing parallels with successful models from other jurisdictions, the article strongly advocates prompt legislative action, specifically a Malaysian Older Persons Act grounded in human rights principles. It concludes that recognising older persons as explicit rights‑holders through a dedicated statute is essential to enrich the quality of life for Malaysia’s older citizens, emphasizing the adage ‘Better Late Than Never’ as the guiding principle.
Several studies have shown that (i) grandparental support varies according to gender and lineage, and (ii) differences in family relationships tend to exist between lower and higher socioeconomic status (SES). However, there is a lack of studies examining whether grandparents provide more support to grandchildren from lower- or higher-SES families in contemporary affluent societies, and whether this differs between maternal and paternal grandmothers and grandfathers. We used population-based data from Germany and applied generalized ordered logit models to examine how grandparental childcare and financial support vary with the SES of grandchildren’s families, measured by parental education and household income. It was detected that grandparents provided frequent childcare help more often to grandchildren whose parents had higher levels of education and income. Specifically, frequent childcare help from maternal grandmothers increased as parental education levels rose. Additionally, paternal grandparents provided more financial support to families in the medium, high, and highest income classes compared to those in the lowest income class. These findings are more consistent with an accumulation pattern than a compensation pattern, suggesting that grandparental support may contribute to the persistence of socioeconomic inequalities between families.
Meaning in life (MIL) is associated with enhanced well-being but little is known about sources of MIL for older adults. As an increasing proportion of older adults are engaged in employment and volunteer roles, this study aimed to examine the associations between MIL, employment, and volunteering among older adults still working and transitioning to retirement. Additionally, the study sought to examine what it is about these roles that may facilitate MIL, specifically, whether giving social support would mediate the relationships between employment, volunteering, and MIL. This research was based on a large sample of community-dwelling older adults in Aotearoa New Zealand. It was a secondary data analysis primarily using linear hierarchical regression. While participation in paid employment was not associated with MIL, the provision of social support mediated the relationship between paid employment and MIL. Volunteering was associated with higher MIL among older adults and this relationship was also mediated by the provision of social support. Volunteering presents opportunities to provide support for others and may be particularly effective for enhancing MIL among older adults. Further research is needed to investigate how different aspects of employment relate to MIL in order to better understand how employment may be structured to contribute to MIL and how MIL might be promoted among older adults.
Population ageing poses significant challenges globally, particularly regarding the rapid growth of the older adult population. To map the intellectual structure of this field, this study conducts a bibliometric analysis of 691 highly cited papers, defined as those ranking in the top 1
The chronic conditions associated with age are an increasing challenge to individual and public health in many countries. In general, older age groups have a greater average multiplicity of chronic conditions (greater “multimorbidity”). But the variation (not only the average) of multimorbidity within groups of increasing age seems not to have been studied empirically. The variation in multimorbidity in groups of increasing age could, in principle, increase or decrease. We use the enhanced Charlson Comorbidity Index (eCCI) as a quantitative index of a person’s concurrent chronic medical conditions (multimorbidities) in 39 categories, weighted by severity. We demonstrate systematic relationships between the mean eCCI and the variance of eCCI of people by age group in de-identified electronic health records of 238,156 adults served by four United States health systems (HSs), two in Chicago, two in New York City. The relation of variance to mean eCCI across age groups is described by a generalization of Taylor’s power law. Within almost every age group, the frequency distribution of eCCI per individual is well approximated by a negative binomial distribution. The means and the variances of the fitted negative binomial distributions within age groups account approximately for the relations of mean and variance of eCCI across age groups. The clear findings that variance of eCCI within an age group rises with the mean eCCI, and that the variance exceeds the mean, imply that increasing average multimorbidity brings more variable or heterogeneous multimorbidity. Both clinical care and health policy need to take account of the variation or heterogeneity of multimorbidity among older adults.
Little is known about the outdoor activities of older people in the Nordic Arctic region, who face long and snowy winters, long distances, underdeveloped transportation and limited community facilities. Addressing the lack of region-specific evidence on outdoor mobility for promoting healthy and independent ageing in Arctic environments, this study aims to examine self-reported barriers and enablers of outdoor mobility among adults aged 70 years or older living in Iceland and northern parts of Finland and Sweden. A cross-sectional postal questionnaire focusing on outdoor mobility and environment was circulated in 2024 and collected 811 responses, a 41
Health inequalities among older adults remain a major concern in ageing European populations. While shaped by age, gender, and education, how these health inequalities evolve across generations is less clear. This study examines six European birth cohorts from age 50 to advanced old age using 18 years of longitudinal data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Poor self-perceived health (SPH) and multimorbidity (three or more chronic conditions) were analysed using multivariate logistic models. Results show health improvements among younger cohorts, and evidence of morbidity compression in midlife and early old age. Gender health gaps have narrowed across cohorts, indicating an improvement; however, educational inequalities persist, with higher-educated individuals consistently enjoying better health. These findings reveal the persistence of social inequalities, highlighting the importance of monitoring cohort-specific health trajectories, and provide evidence to support targeted health policies, educational interventions, and resource planning for Europe’s ageing populations.
The study analysed the relationship between depression in older adults and various variables related to their physical and psychological well-being (stress, loneliness, sleepiness, insomnia, pain perception, residential care home residence, and cognitive status). It also aimed to examine which of these variables showed stronger associations with depressive symptoms using an analytical model. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 495 older adults (60.8
Previous studies show that individual productivity potential (IPP) scores differ across age groups, and that stronger perceived workplace health and safety climates and occupational health and safety (OHS) interventions are associated with improved workplace productivity. This raises the question of whether workplace productivity and work-related health or safety (HS) risk are related to age, and whether improved workplace productivity is associated with increased HS risk. Our research questions are: (i) whether older employees have a lower individual productivity level and lower work-related HS risk than younger employees, and (ii) whether employees’ work-related HS risk is related to their individual productivity level. HS risk reflects whether an employee thinks his or her HS is at risk because of the person’s work, and individual productivity level is measured by how often an employee works at very high speed. We use data on employees from the European Working Conditions Telephone Survey (EWCTS) for 2021. Based on the generalized structural equation model, we find that older employees have a lower individual productivity level, and the youngest employees a higher level, than the middle-aged employees. Younger employees also have a lower probability of reporting a work-related HS risk than the middle-aged employees, while there are no significant differences in this probability between older employees and the middle-aged employees. Furthermore, the probability of reporting a work-related HS risk is positively related to the level of individual productivity.
Aging unfolds within environmental contexts that shape everyday experiences, wellbeing, and vulnerability in later life. Although gerontological research has traditionally emphasized biological, clinical, and social determinants of aging, the emotional implications of environmental change remain comparatively underexplored. Gradual transformations such as rising temperatures, loss of green spaces, and alterations to familiar landscapes may be particularly consequential for older adults, whose lives are often strongly embedded in place and increasingly dependent on their immediate environments. In later life, environmental change may therefore be experienced not only as a physical or infrastructural challenge, but also as an emotional one, affecting continuity, security, and belonging. This article introduces solastalgia as a conceptual lens for understanding place-based distress associated with environmental change when individuals remain in their home environment. Rather than proposing solastalgia as a clinical condition, the paper situates the concept within established debates in environmental gerontology, including place attachment, environmental continuity, and aging in place. By explicitly integrating these perspectives, the paper contributes to extending environmental gerontology to incorporate emotional responses to environmental change and to reframing psychosocial vulnerability in later life as partly shaped by dynamic person–environment interactions. The article also outlines directions for future research and highlights implications for aging research, public health, and environmental policy in the context of ongoing environmental change.
Although the increased longevity in the Western Pacific Region (WPRO) is an important milestone, there remains a significant disparity between life expectancy and health-adjusted life expectancy in the region. While the existing literature has mainly emphasised health-related contributors to healthy ageing in the region, this study investigates the non-health factors that are associated with healthy ageing in the WPRO. This population-based modelling study covered 27 WPRO countries using the WHO, UN, and the World Bank data. The sample had a mean age of 69.3 and a standard deviation of 1.26. Using country-level national averages, the analysis procedure involved one-way analysis of variance to evaluate the association of factors on different data year groups of life expectancy at age 65 and healthy adjusted life expectancy at age 60, and the development of a model for those factors on healthy ageing. Data analysis and visualisation were conducted using SPSS (version 29) and Microsoft Excel (version 2021). Factors positively associated with healthy ageing in the WPRO are government expenditure on recreation, culture, and religion, and policies related to healthy ageing, Frontier Technology Readiness Index, Human Development Index, one-person households, expected/mean years of schooling, personal remittances, GDP, and proportion of retired individuals receiving pensions. Findings from this non-causal but hypothesis-generating study highlight the pivotal role of non-health-related correlates of healthy ageing within the Western Pacific Region. The findings advocate for a holistic, cross-sectoral approach to promoting healthy ageing, whereby policies seamlessly integrate domains of health, education, economic security, and environmental sustainability to create supportive environments for older people.
Chronic pain and mobility limitations are common in later life and frequently contribute to functional disability. However, disability assessment often focuses primarily on biomedical impairments, potentially overlooking broader dimensions of functional burden experienced by older adults. The study aimed to describe the prevalence of functional disability and physical burden, identify subgroups of older adults with shared patterns of functional limitation, and examine demographic factors associated with these profiles in rural Tamil Nadu, India. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 521 adults aged ≥ 55 years across five rural villages in Tamil Nadu, India. Functional disability was measured using the Washington Group-Short Set (WG-SS), and physical burden was assessed using the EQ-5D-5L domains of mobility, self-care, and pain/discomfort. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify patterns of functional limitation, followed by multinomial logistic regression to examine demographic predictors of class membership. Functional difficulty was highly prevalent, with 94.4
