Page 10 - IJPS-1-1

International Journal of Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Changes in total and disability-free life ex-

pectancy among older adults in China: Do

they portend a compression of morbidity?

2
3,4
1*
Zachary Zimmer , Mira Hidajat , and Yasuhiko Saito
1 Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, 505 Parnassus Ave,
San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
2 School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, 39 Whatley Road, Bristol
BS8 2PS, United Kingdom
3 University Research Center, Nihon University, 12-5 Gobancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-8251,
Japan
4 School of Medicine, Nihon University, 30-1 Ooyaguchi Kamicho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo,
173-8610, Japan

Abstract: The purpose of this research is to determine whether disability-free life expectancy
(DFLE) in China has been increasing more rapidly than total life expectancy (TLE). Such a
scenario would be consistent with a compression of morbidity, a situation that is especially
desirable in a country experiencing rapid population aging and gains in old-age longevity. Us-
ing the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Study, an exponential survival regression is
used to calculate TLE. The Sullivan method is then employed for computing DFLE. Results for
a 65 and older sample are compared across data collected during two periods, the first with a
2002 baseline and a 2005 follow-up (N=15,641) and the second with a 2008 baseline and a
2011 follow-up (N=15,622). The first comparison is by age and sex. The second comparison
divides the sample further by rural/urban residence and education. The ratio of DFLE/TLE
across periods provides evidence of whether older Chinese are living both longer and healthier
lives. The findings are favorable for the total population aged 65+, but improvements are only
statistically significant for females. Results also suggest heterogeneous compression occurring
across residential status with the urban population experiencing more favorable changes than
their rural counterparts. Results both portend a compression of morbidity and continuing dis-
advantage for rural residents who may not be participating in population-wide improvements in
health.
Keywords: aging, China, compression of morbidity, disability, life expectancy, longevity,
mortality, Sullivan method
Copyright: © 2015 Zachary Zimmer,
Mira Hidajat, and Yasuhiko Saito. This is
an Open Access article distributed un- *Correspondence to: Zachary Zimmer, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Califor-
der the terms of the Creative Commons nia, 505 Parnassus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Email: zachary.zimmer@ucsf.edu
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Interna-
tional License (http://creativecommons. Received: April 9, 2015; Accepted: June 1, 2015; Published Online: June 7, 2015
org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), permitting all Citation: Zimmer Z, Hidajat M, and Saito Y. (2015). Changes in total and disability-free life expectancy
non-commercial use, distribution, and among older adults in China: Do they portend a compression of morbidity? International Journal of
reproduction in any medium, provided
the original work is properly cited. Population Studies, vol.1(1): 4–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.18063/IJPS.2015.01.001.

International Journal of Population Studies | 2015, Volume 1, Issue 1 4