Research on the healthy life expectancy of elderly individuals in China based on intrinsic capacity health standards and social stratification analysis

Abstract Background Based on the health standard of intrinsic capacity, this paper conducts an empirical study on the healthy life expectancy of elderly individuals aged 60 and older in China and analyzes the health inequities associated with different social characteristics to provide a reference for improving care for the elderly population in China. Methods Data from the China Health and Pension Longitudinal Study from 2011 to 2013 were used to evaluate the intrinsic capacity level of elderly individuals, and the multistate life table method was used to measure the healthy life expectancy of elderly individuals in China with the help of IMaCH software. Based on the theory of social stratification, the health inequality between elderly individuals in different social classes was analyzed from three dimensions: residence, income and education level. Results Healthy life expectancy measured by intrinsic capacity was higher than that measured by the standard but significantly lower than that measured by disability, ADL, IADL and self-rated health. The calculation results show that the average life expectancy of the elderly in China at age 60 is 13.76 more years, the healthy life expectancy is 11.21 more years, and the healthy life expectancy accounts for 81.4% of the average life expectancy. The healthy life expectancy of the elderly with different social characteristics in China shows significant differences, and the healthy life expectancy of the elderly individuals who are male, live in urban environments and have middle-high income levels is significantly better than that of the elderly individuals who are female, live in rural areas and have low incomes, but the healthy life expectancy of elderly individuals with low levels of education is higher than that of elderly individuals with high levels of education. Conclusion Healthy life expectancy measured by intrinsic capacity as the health standard has a certain reference value, which reflects the overall intrinsic capacity level of elderly individuals in China and expands the transformation and multidimensional understanding of the healthy thinking of elderly individuals in China. The analysis by social stratification reflects the large health inequities that exist in the elderly population in China.