Highlights
- •The WHO framework for healthy aging focusses attention on the interaction between intrinsic capacity and environments of aging.
- •Neighborhood environmental factors are related to the physical and mental health of older people.
- •Neighborhood access to facilities and social cohesion are related to changes in mental health over two years.
- •Neighborhood access to facilities interacts with intrinsic capacity to predict changes in physical health over two years.
Abstract
Objectives
Following the WHO 2015 policy framework, we tested the effects of older people’s intrinsic
capacity and their perceptions of their neighborhood environments on mental and physical
health-related quality of life (QoL) outcomes across two years.
Study design
Participants (mean age = 66) were drawn from two waves of a longitudinal study of
aging (n = 2910) in 2016 and 2018. Regression analyses tested the main and interaction effects
of intrinsic capacity and neighborhood factors on health-related QoL at T2 (controlling
for T1).
Main outcome measures
Intrinsic capacity was assessed with number of chronic conditions. Neighborhood perceptions
was assessed with measures of housing suitability, neighborhood satisfaction, and
neighborhood social cohesion. Health-related QoL was assessed with SF12 physical and
mental health component scores.
Results
Perceptions of greater neighborhood accessibility and more trust among neighbours
were associated with better mental health-related QoL two years later, but not to
changes in physical health-related QoL. A significant interaction between intrinsic
capacity and neighborhood access to facilities on physical health-related QoL over
time showed that those reporting lower neighborhood access experienced a stronger
impact of intrinsic capacity on physical health-related QoL.
Conclusions
The neighborhood environment is important to the wellbeing of older people and is
amenable to policy interventions. We need more work on the aspects of the immediate
environment that support QoL in older age. This study points to the need for accessible
facilities and cohesive neighborhoods to support health.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 17, 2020
Accepted:
May 12,
2020
Received in revised form:
May 6,
2020
Received:
February 27,
2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
