Healthy life expectancy and its influencing factors among the elderly in Zhengzhou city

Objective To know the state and the influencing factors of healthy life expectancy among the residents aged 65 years or above in Zhengzhou city and to provide scientific basis for health services in the elderly.Methods With cluster sampling,activity of daily life(ADL) scale and a self-designed questionnaire were used to investigate the elderly aged 65 years or above from seven communities and eleven rest homes(2 622 people).Results The healthy life expectancy of the people aged 65 to 69 years was 11.31 years(11.10 years for male,11.46 years for female).The ratio between healthy life expectancy and life expectancy of men aged 65 years or above was higher than that of women(t=6.47,P< 0.01).Age,hearing impairment or visual disturbance,cardio-cerebrovascular disease,diabetes,and senile dementia were the risk factors of healthy life expectancy.Whereas,good education,physical exercise,and having spouse were the protective factors of healthy life expectancy.Conclusion Life quality of men aged 65 years or above is higher than that of women,but life expectancy of men is less than that of women in Zhengzhou city.Age,education,physical exercise,spouse,and chronic diseases can influence healthy life expectancy of the elderly.