As an important source of income for elderly people, pensions have a great impact on their wellbeing. There are three different pension systems in China (the Old-age Insurance System for Government Agencies and Institutions (OISGAI), the Basic Old-age Insurance System for Urban Employees (BOISUE) and the Social Insurance of the Old-age Pension for Urban and Rural Residents (SIOPURR)). This study empirically analyses the impact of various pension types on the happiness of elderly people in China and further explores the potential impact mechanism using the 2014 China Family Panel Studies data. The study suggests that first, receiving pensions from OISGAI, BOISUE and SIOPURR is positively correlated with the happiness level of elderly people. Second, the sense of happiness of elderly people who receive BOISUE is higher than that of those receiving SIOPURR, which is mainly caused by the difference in the level of pension benefits. When the level of benefits is controlled for, there is no significant difference between these two groups. Third, when they have the same level of pension benefits, the happiness of elderly people who receive OISGAI is significantly higher than that of those who receive pensions from the other two systems, which is possibly related to the hidden ‘special’ government guarantee and the difference of the growth rate of the benefit level.

In rapidly urbanising China, a high number of elderly people, the so-called ‘laopiao’, float to cities where their sons or daughters live to look after their children and grandchildren. Laopiao in urban China are thought to suffer poor mental health owing to their floating status. This study explores the inter-relationship among social capital, the built environment and mental health in urban China. Using a recent survey conducted in Nanjing (N = 591), structural equation modelling was performed to compare the local elderly people and the laopiao. Results showed that mental health determinants are dissimilar between the two groups of elderly people. Bonding social capital promotes mental health in both groups, while bridging and linking social capital only contributes to the mental health of the laopiao. Also, access to public transportation is positively correlated with mental health in both groups. Furthermore, lower street network density and better access to parks enhance the mental health of the local elderly people, while higher street network density and more open space within a community enhance the mental health of the laopiao. Our findings suggest that different policy measures should be implemented for different groups of elderly people in urban China to improve their mental health.

Fish harbour many types of nutrients that are beneficial for preventing cognitive decline. Therefore, habitual fish intake might contribute to a lower risk of incident dementia. However, few prospective cohort studies have investigated fish consumption in relation to incident dementia, and their findings have been inconsistent. To investigate the association between fish consumption and the risk of incident dementia, we collected data on the consumption of fish and other foods using an FFQ in a baseline survey of individuals aged ≥65 years living in Ohsaki City, Japan. After 5·7 years of follow-up, the incidence of dementia was 1118 (8·5 %) among 13 102 participants. We then used a multivariate-adjusted Cox model to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI. Compared with subjects with the lowest fish intake (Q1), the multivariate HR were 0·90 (95 % CI 0·74, 1·11) for Q2, 0·85 (95 % CI 0·73, 0·99) for Q3 and 0·84 (95 % CI 0·71, 0·997) for Q4 (Ptrend = 0·029). Such associations were also observed even after excluding participants who were diagnosed with dementia in the first 2 years of follow-up and those who had poorer cognitive function at baseline. In conclusion, an association was observed between higher fish consumption and a lower risk of incident dementia among healthy elderly people without disability. These findings suggest that habitual fish intake may be beneficial for the prevention of dementia.

This study investigates the effectiveness of a robot-mediated strategy aimed at promoting balance recovery after multidirectional slippages. Six older adults were asked to manage anteroposterior and mediolateral slippages while donning an active pelvis orthosis (APO). The APO was set up either to assist volunteers during balance loss or to be transparent. The margin of stability, in sagittal and frontal planes, was the main metric to assess the effectiveness of balance recovery. Results showed that the assistive strategy is effective at promoting balance recovery in the sagittal plane, for both perturbing paradigms; however, it is not effective at controlling stability in the frontal plane.

In Japan, an increasing number of elderly people are facing legal issues. However, whether they have enough access to legal services remains unclear. Therefore, this study used a mixed-methods approach—web and interview surveys—to identify elderly people’s experience with legal problems, factors that affect their decisions to consult lawyers about their problems, and factors that relate to their knowledge about the availability of legal consultation. Results showed that legal problems were related to issues with family or relatives. Second, elderly people did not consult lawyers if they could solve problems on their own, felt helpless, or lacked a connection with legal professionals. Third, respondents who had knowledge about the availability of legal consultation were male or working elderly. The overall results suggest that elderly people are not homogeneous, and more support is needed for those who feel helpless or lack knowledge about legal consultation.

The proportion of elderly people in the population is increasing, presenting a number of new challenges in society. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how elderly persons with motoric eating difficulties perceive and perform their food and meal practices in everyday life. By using Goffman's concept of performance as a theoretical framework together with Bourdieu's thinking on habitus, a deeper understanding of food and meal practices is obtained. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 elderly people (aged between 67 and 87 years) and meal observations were carried out with 11 of these people. Participants were found to manage food and meal practices by continuously adjusting and adapting to the new conditions arising as a result of eating difficulties. This was displayed by conscious planning of what to eat and when, avoiding certain foods and beverages, using simple eating aids, but also withdrawing socially during the meals. All these adjustments were important in order to be able to demonstrate proper food and meal behaviour, to maintain the façade and to act according to the perceived norms. As well as being a pleasurable event, food and meals were also perceived in terms of being important for maintaining health and as ‘fuel’ where the main purpose is to sustain life. This was strongly connected to the social context and the ability to enjoy food and meals with family members and friends, which appeared to be particularly crucial due to the impending risk of failing the meal performance.

The objective of the present study was to investigate age-related differences in erythrocyte membrane fluidity (EMF) and changes in antioxidant capacity following supplementation. A total of seventy-four children were randomly divided into two groups: group A1 was the placebo-controlled group and group A2 was supplemented daily with 600 μg retinol, 1·0 mg β-carotene, 100 mg tocopherol, 300 mg ascorbic acid and 200 μg Se. A total of ninety young people were randomly divided into B1 and B2 groups, and ninety-one elderly subjects were divided into C1 and C2 groups. Groups B1 and C1 were placebo-controlled groups, and groups B2 and C2 were daily supplemented with 900 μg retinol, 1·5 mg β-carotene, 200 mg tocopherol, 500 mg ascorbic acid and 400 μg Se. Results showed that plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) was 5·35 μmol/l in children, which was lower than in young and elderly people. The MDA levels of the young and elderly individuals in the treated groups were significantly lower compared with the control groups, but the supplementation did not alter MDA levels in children. At baseline, there was a lower value of polarisation (ρ) and microviscosity (η) in children, indicating a higher EMF, than in both the young and elderly subjects. After the 2-month trial, the ρ and η values of young and elderly subjects in the treated groups decreased significantly in comparison with the placebo groups, indicating an increase in EMF. In conclusion, there was a background of higher MDA levels and lower EMF in young and elderly people than in children, which could be improved by antioxidant supplementation.

The population of South Korea is ageing rapidly and government provision for older people is meagre. Hence the erosion of traditional family support for older people is of much concern. Yet relatively little is known about the actual financial status of elderly Koreans or the amount of economic support they receive from children. This paper addresses these issues using data from the 2006 Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing. We find that almost 70 per cent of Koreans aged 65 or more years received financial transfers from children and that the transfers accounted for about a quarter of an average elder's income. While over 60 per cent of elders would be poor without private transfers, children's transfers substantially mitigate elder poverty, filling about one-quarter of the poverty gap. Furthermore, children's transfers tend to be proportionally larger to low-income parents, so elder income inequality is reduced by the transfers. Over 40 per cent of elders lived with a child and co-residence helps reduce elder poverty. By showing that Korean children still play a crucial role in providing financial old-age security, we demonstrate how important it is for the Korean government to design old-age policies that preserve the incentives for private assistance. This snapshot of today's Korea also has implications for other rapidly changing Asian countries that are following a similar trajectory.

Malnutrition is common in older people and is associated with a number of adverse outcomes. We review the evidence for the effectiveness of nutritional supplementation for older people in the community, in institutional care and following discharge from hospital. Studies in these settings are scarce, often include only small numbers of participants and are of variable quality. The interventions used are heterogeneous and difficult to directly compare. Oral nutritional supplements (sip feeds), dietary fortification, educational programmes, exercise, flavour enhancement and meal setting have all been studied. Evidence for use of oral nutritional supplements as sip feeds in undernourished community-dwelling and institutionalized older people and in those discharged from hospital is currently insufficient to recommend routine use. Flavour enhancement and more sociable meal environments may be beneficial. Further, more methodologically robust research is needed to clarify the effect of these interventions.

Socioeconomic factors and the patterns of use of health services associated with influenza and pneumococcal vaccination were studied in people aged ⩾65 years admitted to three general hospitals in Spain between 2005 and 2007. The following data were collected: age, sex, risk of pneumonia, educational level, social class, type of household, physician visits, length of time with the same general practitioner, and influenza and pneumococcal vaccination (23vPPV). Associations between variables were assessed using multivariate logistic regression analysis. In total, 1702 patients were included; 59·9% had received 23vPPV and 65·6% influenza vaccine. Older age (OR 1·04, P<0·001), living with a partner (OR 1·72, P=0·003) and influenza vaccination during the last year (OR 6·64, P<0·001) were associated with 23vPPV. Male sex (OR 1·44, P=0·005), older age (OR 1·02, P=0·009), moderate risk of pneumonia (OR 1·58, P=0·001), living with a partner (OR 1·52, P=0·015) and frequent physician visits during the last year (1–6 annuals visits (OR 2·65, P<0·001); >6 visits (OR 3·83, P<0·001)) were associated with influenza vaccination. Coordination between public health and primary-care services may be necessary to improve vaccine uptake.

Background: This study is the first to explore the relations between attachment styles, ageism, and quality of life (QoL) among elderly people. The attachment theory describes how human beings relate to each other, according to their attachment style. Previous studies have examined the connection between attachment styles and prejudice toward distinctive social groups and minorities. Ageism as a form of prejudice is a way of relating negatively to people because they are old. QoL among the elderly was found to be associated with negative age-perceptions. It was therefore hypothesized that QoL, attachments styles, and demographic characteristics can explain ageism among the elderly.

Methods: Four questionnaires were administered: Fraboni Scale of Ageism (FSA), which comprises four scales (separation, affective, stereotype, and intergeneration); Experiences in Close Relationships Scale, which measures four attachment styles (secure, dismissive, fearful, and preoccupied); SF-36 health status inventory (eight scales); and sociodemographic questions. Ninety-four elderly men and women aged 64–85 years living in the community completed the questionnaires.

Results: MANCOVAS indicated that securely attached individuals score higher on separation than fearfully attached individuals, and that securely and dismissively attached individuals score higher than fearful and preoccupied individuals on seven QoL scales. Multiple regression analyses showed that attachment styles, age, gender, and some QoL scales contribute to the explained variance of ageism.

Conclusions: Secure attachment in late life seems to be related to less ageism and a better QoL. The enhancement of a secure attachment base in elderly people may assist in moderating ageism and improving older people's QoL.

Background: Older prisoners are a minority within the prison population but their numbers are increasing at a greater rate than any other age group. The mental health of younger prisoners has been well researched but this is not the case for older inmates. The aim of this paper is to provide a review of the existing literature on the mental health of older prisoners.

Methods: Relevant papers were identified through database searches and an examination of cited references in the selected papers. The literature was divided into different sections in order to examine the contributing factors and rates of mental illness in older prisoners.

Results: The first section looks at demographic factors relevant to older prisoners. Subsequent sections examine psychosocial factors, environmental factors and physical health factors that may have a detrimental effect on mental health. The final sections look at the prevalence of mental illness in older offenders before and after sentencing.

Conclusions: Mental illness in older prisoners is a result of complex interactions between numerous individual and environmental factors. It currently remains poorly researched and service provision for older prisoners with mental illness is poorly developed. Further research is needed, with a particular focus on the different groups of older prisoners and the most beneficial service models, because the number of older prisoners, including those with mental illness, is likely to increase in the future.

The European micronutrient recommendations aligned (EURRECA) Network of Excellence seeks to establish clear guidelines for assessing the validity of reported micronutrient intakes among vulnerable population groups. A systematic literature review identified studies validating the methodology used in elderly people for measuring usual dietary micronutrient intake. The quality of each validation study selected was assessed using a EURRECA-developed scoring system. The validation studies were categorised according to whether the reference method applied reflected short-term intake ( < 7 d), long-term intake ( ≥ 7 d) or used biomarkers (BM). A correlation coefficient for each micronutrient was calculated from the mean of the correlation coefficients from each study weighted by the quality of the study. Thirty-three papers were selected, which included the validation of twenty-five different FFQ, six diet histories (DH), one 24-h recall (24HR) and a videotaped dietary assessment method. A total of five publications analysed BM, which were used to validate four FFQ, and one 24HR, presenting very good correlations only for vitamin E. The analysis of weighted correlation coefficients classified by FFQ or DH showed that most of the micronutrients had higher correlations when the DH was used as the dietary method. Comparing only FFQ results showed very good correlations for measuring short-term intakes of riboflavin and thiamin and long-term intakes of P and Mg. When frequency methods are used for assessing micronutrient intake, the inclusion of dietary supplements improves their reliability for most micronutrients.

Reciprocity is a powerful principle in social ties. The ethos of family reciprocity is especially strong in Asian societies. We study contemporaneous family exchanges, hypothesising that the more current help older Singaporeans receive from family, the more they give in return. Cross-sectional analyses were undertaken of data from two national Singapore surveys conducted in 1995 and 1999. The help received by older people is measured by income and cash support, payment of household expenses by others, having a companion for away-from-home activities, and having a principal carer. The help given by older people is measured by baby-sitting, doing household chores, giving financial help to children, and advising on family matters. Multivariate models are used to examine the factors that affect an older person's ability and willingness to give help. The results show that the more financial support Singapore seniors received from kin, the more baby-sitting and chores they provided. In their swiftly modernising society, Singapore seniors are maintaining family reciprocity by giving time in return for money. We discuss how during the coming decades, reciprocity in Southeast and East Asian societies may shift from instrumental to more affective behaviours.