The ‘Ageing Health and Wellbeing in China and India’ project provides comparative insights into the ways in which social and economic factors influence health and wellbeing among older adults in two of the world’s most populated countries- China and India.

The project used data from the World Health Organization Study on global AGEing and adult health (WHO-SAGE, Wave 1 2007-2010) with nationally representative samples aged 50+ years in low and middle income countries worldwide.

Health and wellbeing measures in this study were based on a standard WHO Quality of Life measure (WHOQoL scale 0-100) covering a range of subjective assessments such as financial resources, relationships, psychological wellbeing, and physical health. Social capital variables cover generalised social trust and social network composite measures which include marital status, religious activity, society membership, and closeness to friends and relatives. Multivariable linear regressions were conducted separately for each country, and analyses take into account age, sex, rural-urban residence, permanent income quintiles, and potential health risks and other covariates such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and a number of chronic conditions.

With the rapid increase in ageing in both societies, promoting social networking and neighbourhood safety could be beneficial to improving quality of life and wellbeing in China and India.

The ‘Ageing Health and Wellbeing in China and India’ project provides comparative insights into the ways in which social and economic factors influence health and wellbeing among older adults in two of the world’s most populated countries- China and India.

The project used data from the World Health Organization Study on global AGEing and adult health (WHO-SAGE, Wave 1 2007-2010) with nationally representative samples aged 50+ years in low and middle income countries worldwide.

Health and wellbeing measures in this study were based on a standard WHO Quality of Life measure (WHOQoL scale 0-100) covering a range of subjective assessments such as financial resources, relationships, psychological wellbeing, and physical health. Social capital variables cover generalised social trust and social network composite measures which include marital status, religious activity, society membership, and closeness to friends and relatives. Multivariable linear regressions were conducted separately for each country, and analyses take into account age, sex, rural-urban residence, permanent income quintiles, and potential health risks and other covariates such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and a number of chronic conditions.

With the rapid increase in ageing in both societies, promoting social networking and neighbourhood safety could be beneficial to improving quality of life and wellbeing in China and India.