Wednesday 10 September 2003, 2pm, Chapel.
The influence of multiple role occupancy in mid-life on participation in social activities
Karen Glaser (Age Concern Institute of Gerontology), Maria Evandrou and Cecilia Tomassini (Population and Demography Division, Office for National Statistics)
Recent socio-economic and demographic changes, such as increases in care-giving and female labour force participation; rises in the age at which children leave home, as well as increases in the proportion returning home; and improvements in longevity; are all likely to lead to increases in the number of people with work and family responsibilities in mid-life. Given these trends, understanding the consequences for well-being of multiple work and family commitments in mid-life is an important policy issue.
We use the 2000 British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) to investigate gender differences in the effects of intensive multiple role occupancy on the level of social activity participation and frequency of meeting friends and relatives in a sample of 1,250 couples. The research focused on the occupancy of three intensive roles: 'carer', 'parent', and 'paid worker' defined as those: 1) providing care for over 20 hours a week; 2) either living with dependent children or with only adult children, at least one of whom was in poor health, unemployed, or widowed, divorced or separated, and 3) in full-time paid employment.
Results show that occupying an intensive parental role significantly reduced the level of participation in social activities for both wives and husbands. However, husbands with an intensive parental role were more likely to regularly meet with relatives and friends than those without. Wives' participation in social activities was significantly reduced where their husbands were providing care for over 20 hours a week. In contrast, husbands' participation was significantly increased if their wives were in full-time paid work. This may reflect the fact that they have more time to do so, or more resources.
Email: karen.glaser@kcl.ac.uk
Email: maria.evandrou@kcl.ac.uk
Email: Cecilia.Tomassini@ons.gov.uk
Reproductive history and health and mortality in later life among women in England and Wales
Emily Grundy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Cecilia Tomassini, Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Parenthood represents a major domain of most people's lives with important implications, including implications for health. These have been investigated in a range of studies but results are conflicting. In this paper we analyse associations between parity, timing of births and mortality after age 50 and longstanding illness in 1991 in different birth cohorts (1911-40) of women in England and Wales, using the ONS Longitudinal Study. We consider the mortality patterns and health status of women from whom fertility histories were collected in 1971 and follow them (adding all further births) up to 2000. We calculate the relative risk of death in the period 1971-2000 and the probability of long term illness in 1991 by parity and age at first and last birth, controlling for marital and socio-economic status and living arrangement. Results show that nulliparous women and women who had their first child before age 20 had significantly higher mortality, in all the cohorts analysed, after controlling for socio-economic variables. Mothers with two children had the lower mortality. Having a late birth (after age 39) was associated with lower mortality risks. Implications of results, given changing patterns of fertility, for the future health of older women are discussed.
Email: Emily.grundy@lshtm.ac.uk
Email: Cecilia.Tomassini@ons.gov.uk
Hospital admissions, age and death. 'The cost of ageing' or 'the cost of dying'?
Tracy Dixon, Shah Ebrahim and Mary Shaw, University of Bristol
With life expectancy continuing to increase and birth rates stable or falling in most parts of the world, population ageing has become an important issue. Data from the 2001 census shows that 15.9 per cent of the British population - over 9.3 million people - were aged 65 and over in 2001, while 20.2 per cent or 11.9 million were less than 16 years of age. At the time of the previous census, in 1991, the respective numbers were 7.6 million and 11.7 million. At the current rates of change, it is projected that within the next 15 years the number of people in the UK aged 65 years and over will exceed the number under 16 years of age. This shift in population structure will affect many aspects of public planning and policy, including the financing and delivery of health care.
It is generally believed that increases in age and health care costs go hand in hand. As the population ages it is expected that health care costs, both in terms of overall expenditure and use of NHS resources, will increase dramatically. However there is debate over whether it is ageing per se which results in cost increases, particularly in the case of hospital care. There is some evidence to suggest that it is proximity to death which influences the cost of hospital care, independent of age.
This paper will use data from the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) database to explore the relationships between hospital episodes, age and mortality. The HES extract held at the University of Bristol contains details of all episodes of care provided in NHS hospitals between 1 April 1991 and 31 March 2000. All in-hospital deaths (excluding newborns) for the 1999-2000 financial year were identified and linked on date of birth, postcode and sex to the HES database to identify all episodes of care provided in the three years prior to death. Analyses of cause of admission, age, length of stay, and number of diagnoses at death, and number of admissions and total time spent in hospital in the three years prior to death will be presented.
Email: tracy.dixon@bristol.ac.uk
Email: shah.ebrahim@bristol.ac.uk
Email: mary.shaw@bristol.ac.uk