Cognitively Impairment-free Life Expectancy Among The Older Population In China

As the spectrum of human diseases transforms from acute infectious diseases with high mortality rates to chronic diseases with low mortality rates,more and more countries start to pay attention to the quality of life of their citizens,while the life expectancy of the population keeps increasing.Healthy life expectancy gradually replaces life expectancy,which is regarded as national planning and widely used in social security and population development.At present,people always care more about physical functions while calculating healthy life expectancy.However,based on the surge of dementia patients and the lack of protection for those senior citizens in our country,it’s particularly urgent to study the healthy life expectancy of the elderly from the cognitive aspect.As a result,this paper aims to use the multi-state life table method with the IMa Ch program,based on the transfer probability of cognitive states,to measure and analyze the specific value and changing trend of the cognitively impairment-free life expectancy(CIF)of the old population in China,by using the data of The Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey(CLHLS)from 2014-2018 and 2011-2014.The cognitive level of the elderly population will be measured by the Mini-mental State Examination(MMSE)in the CLHLS questionnaire.Meanwhile,relying on the related factors which may affect the cognitive development of the elderly,this paper will also try to find the factors which may also affect the cognitively impairment-free life expectancy of the elderly population in China as well as their degrees of influence.The conclusions of this paper are as follows: 1,Cognitive decline is an important stage before death for the elderly population.The rates of cognitive decline and the risk of death are increasing while aging.2,Men who are married,educated,kept in wealth,and have good living habits are proven to have longer cognitively impairment-free life expectancies.The above factors also contribute to the increase in the proportion of cognitively impairment-free life expectancy in the whole life cycle(CIF/LE).3,From a dynamic perspective,both the overall life expectancy and the cognitively impairment-free life expectancy of the elderly population have been improved to some extents.The changes of CIF in the younger and older people refer to the " Dynamic Equilibrium Theory",while the elderly in the 80-95 age group is at the stage of " Expansion of Morbidity ".4,The effect of gender on cognitively impairment-free life expectancy decreased over time,while the effects of marriage,education,economic conditions,and living increased.Gender,education,marriage,economic conditions,and living habits also further positively affect CIF/LE over time.The conclusions of this paper provide some factual basis and policy implications for the security of the elderly population with dementia.Firstly,early prevention and intervention should be carried out to slow down cognitive decline and lower the risk of death.Secondly,it is also necessary to advocate cognitive health and eliminate public discrimination against dementia as well as the resistance against cognitive impairment from the elderly themselves.Meanwhile,appreciate the factors that affect the cognitively impairment-free life expectancy,guide the elderly population out of the dilemma of "Expansion of Morbidity",and promote "Healthy Aging" and "Healthy China Initiative".In addition,we should fill the gap in the long-term care for the elderly with dementia,and establish a comprehensive and unified demand assessment system,which covers the body and cognition functions.At the same time,try to establish a comprehensive security system including family,community,and medical institutions as well as provide more specialized and accurate services in caring and rehabilitation for those elderly with cognitive decline.In this way,we can guarantee their dignity and happiness with higher quality.