【latex版】水贴

Highlights
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Existence of sewage systems was associated with fewer physical limitations (PLs).
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Use of coal in the home was associated with more PLs.
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Higher per capita net village income was associated with fewer PLs.
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Higher education was associated with fewer PLs.
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China's New Cooperative Medical Scheme was associated with fewer PLs.

Community (or village) characteristics have received growing attention as researchers have sought factors affecting health.

This study examines the association between a variety of environmental, economic, and social village characteristics and health of Chinese older rural adults with health measured in terms of physical limitations.

The Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS) Pilot Study data were used.

Older villagers from a low-income province (Gansu) and a relatively wealthy province (Zhejiang) were surveyed between July and September, 2008.

The sample included 1267 respondents in 73 villages age 45 and older. The relationship between a variety of village characteristics and physical limitations of older adults was examined using negative binomial regression (NBR) with standard errors adjusted to account for non-independence of respondents in a village.

A comparison of means/percentages shows that Gansu and Zhejiang were significantly different on the dependent and most independent variables.

The NBR models show that at the personal-level, decreased risk of physical limitations was associated with being male, less than 60 years old, married, higher in education, and higher in household expenditures (proxy for income).

At the village-level, decreased risk of limitations was associated with a continuous supply of electricity, not using coal in the household, the existence of a sewage system, low cost of electricity, and village wealth.

Decreased risk of physical limitations was also associated with various characteristics of China's New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS), an insurance program for rural older adults.