https://www.scmp.com/rss/305792/feed The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) is a landmark survey of the middle-aged and elderly in China. Spearheaded by Peking University’s National School of Development, the study aims to collect multidisciplinary data, ranging from socio-economics status to health conditions, to be used to support the scientific analysis of China’s ageing issues. The Charls baseline study polls a nationally representative sample of more than 17,700 individuals from more than 10,000... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com China’s rapid economic growth and emergence as a global power has been accompanied by other speedy developments, two of which made headlines on the same day a fortnight ago: McDonald’s expansion plans, and a new study on the mainland’s shifting disease patterns from infectious to chronic illnesses. It’s a timely coincidence. Diet is the leading risk factor for premature death on the mainland, accounting for one in three deaths in 2010, according to the study published in The Lancet. Comparing... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1262682/rapid-change-diets-put-china-health-under-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1262682/rapid-change-diets-put-china-health-under-pressure?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:08:46 +0000 Zhao Yaohui has been working out of her office at Peking University's National School of Development for almost a decade, and it shows. Bookshelves on facing walls are packed to the brim, mostly with economic tomes, random items are piled on the floor, and a hair dryer hides under her computer table. She offers me a drink and a seat - on her sofa bed. "The office is messy," says the softly spoken Zhao. "I got the hair dryer yesterday because I rushed out and didn't have time to dry my... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1254889/chinese-researchers-story-reflects-countrys-ageing-problems?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1254889/chinese-researchers-story-reflects-countrys-ageing-problems?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Xiao Mingying, 64, a retired worker in Shanghai, is among the 100 million old people on the mainland who have high blood pressure. The condition afflicts more than one in two of this 60-plus-year-old population, but what’s more troubling is that 40 per cent don’t know it, according to findings from the landmark China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) released on Friday. With a rapidly ageing population – and increasing age being one of the key risk factors for hypertension –... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1251677/underdiagnosis-hypertension-reveals-bigger-health-system-gap-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1251677/underdiagnosis-hypertension-reveals-bigger-health-system-gap-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Longstanding concerns that elderly mainlanders will be abandoned by their children as they move away from home appear to be unfounded - for the time being - according to a major new study by a team of international researchers led by Peking University. The findings of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, the biggest-ever survey of middle-aged and elderly people on the mainland, shows that even when elderly parents do not live with their children, there is typically a child living... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1250900/legacy-one-child-policy-could-have-consequences-elderly-welfare?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1250900/legacy-one-child-policy-could-have-consequences-elderly-welfare?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 An unprecedented study of China's ageing population has shown a third of elderly mainlanders report poor health and a quarter are struggling below the poverty line. The research reveals the grave challenge facing Beijing as it tries to cope with the fastest-growing ageing population in the world. It is struggling to put in place adequate health care and retirement support before the problem spins out of control. The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study covered 17,708 people aged 45 or... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1250966/survey-shows-problems-mainlands-growing-elderly-population?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1250966/survey-shows-problems-mainlands-growing-elderly-population?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Old, poor, and ill: it seems China has a big challenge on her hands. About one in three Chinese elderly report having poor health, and nearly one in four have consumption levels below the poverty line, according to findings released today from a landmark survey of Chinese adults aged 45 and over. With a rapidly ageing population – the fastest in the world – China is clearly faced with the challenge of putting in place adequate health care and retirement support for this growing elderly... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1250311/one-4-elderly-chinese-living-below-poverty-line-landmark-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1250311/one-4-elderly-chinese-living-below-poverty-line-landmark-study-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 May 2013 01:24:08 +0000 A landmark study on ageing population on the mainland hopes to provide answers to the raging debate if China will grow rich before it grows old and if the country’s nascent social safety net is equal to the tasks ahead. The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) polled 17,708 individuals from 10,287 households in 28 Chinese provinces between May 2011 and March 2012. The sheer scope and detail of the data collected, ranging from socio-economic aspect to physical and psychological... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1250039/unprecedented-study-seeks-assess-challenges-chinas-ageing-population?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1250039/unprecedented-study-seeks-assess-challenges-chinas-ageing-population?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000