The dynamics of frailty and change in socio-economic conditions: evidence for the 65+ in Europe

Résumé 0

Background: The frailty phenotype for older people is defined as an increased vulnerability to stressors, leading toadverse health outcomes. It is acknowledged as a specific precursor of disability besides chronic diseases thatallows for some reversibility in the loss of autonomy. Although the literature on the socio-economic determinantsof frailty is emerging in cross-sectional settings, little is known about the dynamics of this relationship over time.This article examines the joint evolution of frailty and change in economic conditions for the 65þ in Europe.Methods: Individual and longitudinal data from SHARE (Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe) overthe period 2004–12 has been used. The sample contains 31 044 observations from 12 002 respondents aged 65 ormore. A fixed effect Poisson model is estimated in order to control for unobserved individual heterogeneity. Threetypes of explanative economic variables have been considered in turn: income, wealth and a subjective variable ofdeprivation. Results: Our results indicate that individuals with worsening economic conditions (wealth and subjectivedeprivation) over time simultaneously experience a rapid increase in the frailty symptoms. Results alsoshow that the nature of economic variable does not affect the frailty process in the same way. Subjective measureof deprivation seems to better evaluate the household’s financial difficulties than objective measure. Conclusion:From a public policy perspective, these results show that policies fostering economic conditions of the elderlycould have a significant impact on frailty and henceforth, could reduce the risks of disability.