Study of the impact of experiencing early parental death on the lifespan of the elderly in China

SHEN Wenda; ZHANG Xuxi; SUN Xinying; FENG Xinglin; ZENG Yi

doi:10.16462/j.cnki.zhjbkz.2024.09.002

Volume 28 Issue 9

Sep. 2024

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SHEN Wenda, ZHANG Xuxi, SUN Xinying, FENG Xinglin, ZENG Yi. Study of the impact of experiencing early parental death on the lifespan of the elderly in China[J]. CHINESE JOURNAL OF DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION, 2024, 28(9): 999-1004. doi: 10.16462/j.cnki.zhjbkz.2024.09.002

Citation:

SHEN Wenda, ZHANG Xuxi, SUN Xinying, FENG Xinglin, ZENG Yi. Study of the impact of experiencing early parental death on the lifespan of the elderly in China[J]. CHINESE JOURNAL OF DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION, 2024, 28(9): 999-1004. doi: 10.16462/j.cnki.zhjbkz.2024.09.002

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Study of the impact of experiencing early parental death on the lifespan of the elderly in China

doi: 10.16462/j.cnki.zhjbkz.2024.09.002

SHEN Wenda^{1, 6},
ZHANG Xuxi^{1, 4},
SUN Xinying^{1, 4
,
,},
FENG Xinglin²,
ZENG Yi^{3, 5}

1.
Department of Social Medicine and Health Education, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
2.
Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
3.
Center for Healthy Aging and Development Studies, National School of Development, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
4.
Center for Healthy Aging, Health Science Center, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
5.
Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Medical School of Duke University, Durham NC27710, USA
6.
Institute of Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Tianjin Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, Tianjin 300011, China

Funds:

National Key Research and Development Program of China 2022YFC3600904

National Natural Science Foundation of China 72061137004

Tianjin Key Medical Discipline (Specialty) Construction Project TJYXZDXK-051A

Special Project for Key Discipline of Tianjin Health Commission TJWJ2023XK028

More Information

Corresponding author: SUN Xinying, E-mail: xysun@bjmu.edu.cn
Received Date: 2023-12-06
Rev Recd Date: 2024-05-13
Publish Date: 2024-09-10

Abstract

Abstract

Objective To explore the impact of early parental death (i.e., death of father or mother) on the life span of the elderly in China. Methods The tracking data from the Chinese longitudinal healthy longevity survey (CLHLS) from 2002 to 2021 were utilized to acquire information on individual mortality/loss to follow-up outcomes and variables such as early parental death. Differences between groups were assessed using the χ² test. Univariate survival analysis employed the Kaplan-Meier method, while multivariate survival analysis employed the accelerated failure time model(AFT), with the risk of occurrence expressed as the time ratio (TR). Sensitivity analysis was conducted by multiple linear regression. Results A total of 10 278 individuals were recruited as study participants, of whom 7 738 passed away, with an average age of 92.49±9.35 years. 358 survived and 2 182 were lost to follow-up. The Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a P-value of 0.002 and the median survival time for non-early parental death was 95 years old (95% CI: 94.654-95.346) whereas the median survival time for early parental death was 94 years old (95% CI: 93.494-94.506). with the difference was statistically significant. After adjusting for control variables, the AFT model analysis indicated that the average lifespan of those who had experienced early parental death was 0.994 2 that of those who had not (95% CI: 0.990 3-0.998 2, P=0.004), indicating that experiencing early parental death reduces an individual′s average lifespan by 0.58%. Conclusions Experiencing early parental death will lead to a shortened life span. It is necessary to study and intervene the early parental death as a risk factor, thereby narrowing the health gap and improving the national health level.
- Parental death,
- Elderly,
- Lifespan,
- Accelerated failure time model,
- Time ratio

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References(22)

References

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