Exploring the relationship between national economic indicators and relative fitness and frailty in middle-aged and older Europeans.

ABSTRACT:

Background

on an individual level, lower-income has been associated with disability, morbidity and death. On a population level, the relationship of economic indicators with health is unclear.

Objective

the purpose of this study was to evaluate relative fitness and frailty in relation to national income and healthcare spending, and their relationship with mortality.

Design and setting

secondary analysis of data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE); a longitudinal population-based survey which began in 2004.

Subjects

a total of 36,306 community-dwelling people aged 50 and older (16,467 men; 19,839 women) from the 15 countries which participated in the SHARE comprised the study sample. A frailty index was constructed as the proportio

SUBMITTER: Theou O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3745086 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature