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. 2022 Aug 5:67:1604597.
doi: 10.3389/ijph.2022.1604597. eCollection 2022.

The Effect of Health Check-Ups on Health Among the Elderly in China: Evidence From 2011-2018 Longitudinal Data

Dantong Zhao  1 , Zhongliang Zhou  1 , Chi Shen  1 , Xiaohui Zhai  2 , Yaxin Zhao  2 , Dan Cao  1 , Qiwei Deng  2 , Guanping Liu  1 , Jeremy Fung Yen Lim  3
Affiliations

The Effect of Health Check-Ups on Health Among the Elderly in China: Evidence From 2011-2018 Longitudinal Data

Dantong Zhao et al. Int J Public Health. .

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the effect of health check-ups on health among the elderly Chinese. Methods: The first dataset was panel data extracted from the 2011, 2014, and 2018 waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Health Longevity Survey (CLHLS). The second dataset was cross-sectional data come from CLHLS 2018 linked with the lagged term of health check-ups in CLHLS 2011. Health check-ups were measured by a binary variable annual health check-up (AHC). Health was assessed by a binary variable self-rated health (SRH). A coarsened exact matching method and individual fixed-effects models, as well as logistic regressions were employed. Results: AHC attendance among the elderly increased from 2011 to 2018, with higher utilization of AHC also detected in the rural group. AHC had positive effects on SRH among rural respondents (short-term effect: OR = 1.567, p < 0.05; long-term effect: OR = 3.385, p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study highlights a higher utilization of AHC in rural area, and the effectiveness of AHC in SRH improvement among rural participants. It indicates enhanced access to public healthcare services in rural area and underlying implications of health check-ups for reducing urban-rural health inequalities.

Keywords: elderly; health; health check-ups; preventive care; urban-rural difference.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Flow chart of analytical sample selection procedure (Chinese Longitudinal Health Longevity Survey, China, 2011, 2014, 2018).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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