Healthy aging: gender and lifecourse perspective cycle

Abstract

Objective: To identify biocultural and social factors acting at different stages of lifecourse, involved in the form of aging in women and men over 65 years. Material and Methods: The sample consists of 213 individuals; mean age was 73.9 years (std=5.8) for women and 74.8 (std=6.6) for men. Data were collected in Cultural and Leisure Centers in the Community of Madrid. Healthy aging (created from the number of diagnosed diseases, perceived health, life satisfaction, hearing and oral status) was considered as the dependent variable. The independent variables considered in this study were age, sex, educational level, sitting height, spam, age at first maternity and the total number of children. Linear multiple regression models were used for statistical analysis. Results: Healthy aging was negatively associated with age and positively with the sitting height in men. In women, healthy aging was positively associated with years of education, when age at first motherhood is included in the model, this in the only variable remaining with a significant effect. Conclusions: There are several factors acting across the life of men and women and that affect differently the way women and men get old.