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Background: Sexual function is an important yet understudied aspect of overall health and well‐being in older adults. We aimed to examine sexual function and its correlates among people 50 years and older in China. Methods: We enrolled people aged 50 years and older recruited from four regions in China between September 2021 and July 2022 in a multicenter cross‐sectional study. Data were collected through an investigator‐administered questionnaire about demographic characteristics, health characteristics, and sexual function status. Logistic regression was used to assess correlates of lower sexual function (the highest quintile of the sex‐specific population distribution of Natsal‐SF scores [i.e., lower functioning compared with the remaining]). Results: A total of 465 women and 832 men who were sexually active in the past year were included in the analysis (mean age: 60.4 ± 7.2) [Correction added after first online publication on 12 Feb 2024. The word "years" has been changed to "year" in this sentence.]. Over a quarter of all participants were dissatisfied with their sex life. Notably, 92 women and 167 men were categorized as having a lower sexual function. Age (in men only), living in urban areas, general health status, being underweight or overweight (in men only), and having depressive symptoms were associated with lower sexual function. Among all participants, 43.1% of men and 54.0% of women experienced sexual response problems lasting 3 months or more. Less than one‐third of all participants had sought help or advice for sex life in the past year. Conclusions: Sexual dysfunction and sexual dissatisfaction are prevalent among older adults in China and are associated with self‐assessed poor health. More efforts are needed to better understand sexual health needs and tailor service provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Blindness and vision loss (BVL) is a major global health issue affecting older adults, but its burden in transition countries has received limited attention. Therefore, we aimed to assess the trends in the burden of BVL among older adults between 1990 and 2019 across Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS), and predict the burden by 2040. Methods: Data on BVL and its related causes were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study. We investigated the temporal trends by calculating the average annual percentage change using joinpoint regression analysis. Subsequently, we performed Bayesian age‐period‐cohort modeling to estimate the burden of BVL and its related causes by 2040. Results: Most BRICS countries experienced a significant decline (p < 0.05) in age‐standardized prevalence rates, and the decreasing trends tend to continue. However, by 2040, the number of BVL cases is expected to increase by approximately 50% across BRICS, with an estimated approximately 192, 170, 25, 17, and 7 million cases in China, India, Russia, Brazil, and South Africa, respectively. The related ranks of BVL causes are also estimated to change in the future, particularly in India. Conclusions: The different burdens and trends of BVL across BRICS reflected the different stages of population health transition. Effective eye disease prevention requires appropriate public health interventions. Developing effective health policies and services for older adults is urgently needed in BRICS countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few studies of social isolation, loneliness and associations with all‐cause mortality in older adults have been conducted in non‐Western countries. The aim of this study was to conduct such an analysis in a nationally representative sample of Chinese older adults. Methods: This study used eight waves of data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey from 1998 to 2018 and focused on participants aged ≥60 years. A total of 21,570 people died (61.2%) over a median follow‐up of 4.8 years. Social isolation, loneliness, demographic, health and lifestyle factors were measured at baseline. The primary outcome was all‐cause mortality. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to examine the associations of isolation and loneliness with all‐cause mortality. Results: This study included 35,254 participants with mean age of 86.63 ± 11.39 years. Social isolation was significantly associated with an increased mortality (adjusted HR 1.22; 95% CI 1.18–1.25; p < 0.01). The association of loneliness with mortality was nonsignificant after adjustment for health indicators and low psychological well‐being (HR 1.01; 95% CI 0.98–1.04; p = 0.69). However, when stratified by age, there was a significant association of loneliness with mortality among participants aged <80 years (HR 1.15; 95% CI 1.05–1.26; p < 0.01). Conclusions: Social isolation was associated with an increased all‐cause mortality among the older Chinese adults. However, loneliness was associated with an increased mortality only among younger participants. Public health interventions aimed at increasing social connectedness may potentially reduce excess mortality among older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Older migrants in China without local resident registration (hukou) are a vulnerable population and face barriers to receiving local healthcare. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to quantify the disparities in healthcare utilization between older migrants and local residents in Shanghai, China. DESIGN: This was a cross‐sectional study. SETTING: The study was conducted in Shanghai, China, in 2016. PARTICIPANTS: Older adults (aged ≥60 years) were recruited based on a three‐stage stratified cluster sampling method (2571 older locals and 1920 older migrants). MEASUREMENTS: We compared utilization of outpatient care, inpatient care, preventive care, emergency room (ER) admission, and dental care, as well as medication use between older migrants and local residents. The local‐migrant gap was parsed into observed and unobserved components using the Blinder‐Oaxaca decomposition method. RESULTS: Older migrants were less likely to utilize outpatient (odds ratio [OR] = 0.757; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.617‐0.928), inpatient (OR = 0.642; 95% CI = 0.443‐0.931), and preventive care (OR = 0.743; 95% CI = 0.643‐0.858) and were more likely to use medication (OR = 1.254; 95% CI = 1.089‐1.445) than local residents. Differences in ER admissions and dental care utilization were not significant in the regression analysis. The decomposition results indicated that 55% and 71% of the local‐migrant gap in outpatient and preventive care utilization were attributable to individual characteristics, like health insurance. Unobserved components, including hukou‐related factors and personal heterogeneous preferences, contributed 59% and 63% to utilization of inpatient care and medication use, respectively. CONCLUSION: We identified local‐migrant gaps in healthcare utilization among older adults in China. Further research is needed into integration of the health insurance system, accessibility of public health welfare benefits, and reconstruction of social networks among older migrants. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1560‐1567, 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To determine the association between sensory impairment and dementia in Chinese older adults. Design: Cross‐sectional. Setting: Older adults in 31 provinces of China. Participants: Individuals aged 65 and older (N = 250,752). Measurements: Psychiatrists ascertained dementia based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision. Sensory impairment was measured as only hearing impairment, only vision impairment, and combined sensory impairment (combined hearing and vision impairment). Hearing impairment was defined as greater than 40 dB loss in the better ear according to the standard of the World Health Organization (WHO) Prevention of Deafness and Hearing Impairment (PDH) standard 97.3. Ophthalmologists assessed vision impairment according to the WHO best‐corrected visual acuity (BCVA) criteria (low vision: 0.05≤BCVA ≤0.29; blindness: no light perception ≤ BCVA <0.05, visual field less than 10 degrees; the better‐seeing eye). Results: The prevalence of dementia was 0.41% (95% CI = 0.39–0.44%) without sensory impairment, 0.83% (95% CI = 0.70–0.99%) with only visual impairment, 0.61 (95% CI = 0.53–0.71%) with only hearing impairment, and 1.27% (95% CI = 1.00–1.61%) with combined sensory impairments. After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, vision impairment (odds ratio (OR) = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.28–1.96) and combined sensory impairments (OR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.23–2.20) were associated with greater risk of severe to extremely severe dementia. Hearing impairment was not significantly associated with dementia. Conclusion: Sensory impairments are associated with greater risk of dementia in Chinese older adults. Studies are needed to further explore the pathway of this association in Chinese elderly adults and to provide suggestions to improve health status for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To examine the cross-sectional associations between self-reported postlunch napping and structured cognitive assessments in Chinese older adults. Design Cross-sectional cohort study. Setting China. Participants Individuals aged 65 and older from the baseline national wave of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study ( CHARLS) (N = 2,974). Measurements Interview-based cognitive assessments of orientation and attention, episodic memory, visuospatial abilities, and a combined global cognition score incorporating these assessments. Other self-reported or interview-based assessments included postlunch napping duration, nighttime sleep duration, demographic characteristics, health habits, comorbidities, functional status and social activities. According to reported napping duration, older adults were categorized as non-nappers (0 minutes), short nappers (<30 minutes), moderate nappers (30-90 minutes), and extended nappers (>90 minutes). Results Postlunch napping was reporting in 57.7% of participants for a mean of 63 minutes. Cognitive function was significantly associated with napping ( P < .001). Between-group comparisons showed that moderate nappers had better overall cognition than nonnappers ( P < .001) or extended nappers ( P = .01). Nonnappers also had significantly poorer cognition than short nappers ( P = .03). In multiple regression analysis, moderate napping was significantly associated with better cognition than non- ( P = .004), short ( P = .04), and extended napping ( P = .002), after controlling for demographic characteristics, body mass index, depression, instrumental activities of daily living, social activities, and nighttime sleep duration. Conclusion A cross-sectional association was found between moderate postlunch napping and better cognition in Chinese older adults. The cross-sectional design and self-reported measures of sleep limited the findings. Longitudinal studies with objective napping measures are needed to further test this hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]