Objective  To examine the prevalence and impact factors of physical examination among middle-aged and older Chinese residents and to provide references for promoting the residents′ awareness on physical examination and relevant policy making.

  Methods  The data on 13 188 residents aged 45 years and over were from a wave of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) conducted in 2018 across mainland China. Multivariate unconditional logistic regression analysis was used to assess predisposing, enabling, need and health behavioral factors for physical examination in the residents based on the Andersen-Newman model.

  Results  Of the residents, 48.60% (6 409) reported having participated in physical examination. The results of logistic regression analysis revealed following four dimensional promoting factors for taking physical examination, including 1) predisposing: aged ≥ 60 years, with rural household register, being a member of Communist Party of China, having an education of junior high school and above; 2) enabling: with a pension insurance; 3) need: suffering from chronic disease; and 4) health behavior: with alcohol drinking history; the results also showed that the four dimensional hindering factors for taking physical examination were 1) predisposing: being minority ethnic; 2) enabling: living in central region of China; 3) assessed with depression tendency; and 4) health behavior: with smoking history.

  Conclusion  Among middle-aged and older Chinese residents in 2018, the prevalence of taking physical examination was relatively low and mainly influenced by age, ethnic group, household register, political identity, education, pension insurance, whether suffering from chronic disease, whether having depression tendency and the history of smoking and alcohol drinking.