Associated factors of successful aging among community-dwelling older adults in a rural area of Indonesia: a cross-sectional study.
Retno Indarwati, Joni Haryanto, Elida Ulfiana and 3 others
PMID 42636337WHAT IT FOUND
Among 104 rural Indonesian older adults, those still working and those living 1 to 5 km from a health facility were associated with higher successful aging scores.
Age, education, income, chronic disease, spouse satisfaction and community involvement were not.
Key findings
01Only working status and distance to a health facility were significantly associated with successful aging; other sociodemographic and health-related variables were not.
02Older adults who were still working had higher successful aging scores than those not working (β = 0.383; 95% CI 0.201 to 0.565; p < 0.001).
03Those living 1 to 5 km from a health facility had higher successful aging scores than those living less than 1 km away (β = 0.588; 95% CI 0.242 to 0.935; p = 0.001).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was done in one rural district in Indonesia, so the results may not apply to urban areas or older adults in other countries. Participants were recruited consecutively rather than randomly, which can introduce selection bias and make the sample less representative. The study measured exposures and outcomes at one point in time, so it cannot show that working or distance caused higher successful aging. Some groups were very small, including the oldest participants, those living closest to a health facility, and those earning above the minimum wage, which may make estimates unstable. Most participants had similar income and distance to health facilities, so the study could not compare a wide range of these factors. The regression model explained only a limited share of the differences in successful aging, so important factors may have been missed.
Declared interests
The Airlangga Research Fund paid for the study. The supplied text does not report any conflicts of interest declaration.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that staying employed or living 1 to 5 km from a health facility improves successful aging. This was a cross-sectional survey, the distance result was exploratory, and very few participants were in some key categories.