Healthy ageing in a multi-ethnic population: A descriptive cross-sectional analysis from the HELIUS study

Objective

We investigated ethnic health disparities in the Healthy Life in an Urban Setting multi-ethnic cohort using the multidimensional Healthy Ageing Score.

Study design

We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the study baseline data (2011–2015) collected through questionnaires/physical examinations for 17,091 participants (54.8 % women, mean (SD) age = 44.5 (12.8) years) from South-Asian Surinamese (14.8 %), African Surinamese (20.5 %), Dutch (24.3 %), Moroccan (15.5 %), Turkish (14.9 %), and Ghanaian (10.1 %) origins, living in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Main outcome measures

We computed the Healthy Ageing Score developed in the Rotterdam Study, which has seven biopsychosocial domains: chronic diseases, mental health, cognitive function, physical function, pain, social support, and quality of life. That score was used to discern between healthy, moderate, and poor ageing. We explored differences in healthy ageing by ethnicity, sex, and age group using multinomial logistic regression.

Results

The Healthy Ageing Score [overall: poor (69.0 %), moderate (24.8 %), and healthy (6.2 %)] differed between ethnicities and was poorer in women and after midlife (cut-off 45 years) across ethnicities (all p < 0.001). In the fully adjusted models in men and women, poor ageing (vs. healthy ageing) was highest in the South-Asian Surinamese [adjusted odds ratios (95 % confidence intervals)] [2.96 (2.24–3.90) and 6.88 (3.29–14.40), respectively] and Turkish [2.80 (2.11–3.73) and 7.10 (3.31–15.24), respectively] vs. Dutch, in the oldest [5.89 (3.62–9.60) and 13.17 (1.77–98.01), respectively] vs. youngest, and in the divorced [1.48 (1.10–2.01) and 2.83 (1.39–5.77), respectively] vs. married. Poor ageing was inversely associated with educational and occupational levels, mainly in men.

Conclusions

Compared with those of Dutch ethnic origin, ethnic minorities displayed less healthy ageing, which was more pronounced in women, before and after midlife, and was associated with sociodemographic factors.