Nanjing Medical University Reports Findings in Geriatrics and Gerontology (Does Medical Insurance Integration Reduce Frailty Risk? Evidence From Rural Older Adults in China): Aging Research – Geriatrics and Gerontology

2024 JUN 27 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Aging Research - Geriatrics and Gerontology is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating from Nanjing, People’s Republic of China, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “This study aimed to assess the impacts of China’s health insurance integration reform on frailty among rural older adults. Nationally representative longitudinal data with 2,751 adults aged 60 years were analyzed from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study 2011-2015.”

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Nanjing Medical University, “The integration of the rural New Cooperative Medical Scheme and urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance into the unified Urban and Rural Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URRBMI). Frailty Index (FI) summarizes 32 health deficits, quantifying frailty severity with a range of 0-1. Frailty is defined as FI 0.25, prefrailty as FI 0.10-0.25, and robustness as FI <0.10. Frailty worsening, stability, and improvement from 2011-2015 were assessed. Difference-in-differences and propensity score matched difference-in-differences models assessed URRBMI integration effects on frailty severity and risk (FI 0.25) among rural older adults. URRBMI integration significantly reduced frailty severity by 15.16% and risk by 9.60 percentage points among rural older adults. Reductions were greatest among initially prefrail individuals, with 27.49% lower frailty severity and a 17.62 percentage point reduction in subsequent frailty onset risk after URRBMI integration. In contrast, no significant benefits were observed for initially robust or frail subgroups following integration. Analyses of frailty transitions corroborated selective benefits, with URRBMI integration lowering the risks of worsening frailty among prefrail but no significant reversal of frailty status among those initially frail or prefrail. China’s URRBMI integration selectively ameliorated frailty progression among rural older adults with prefrail status.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Targeting integrated medical insurance policies toward high-risk populations may optimize frailty prevention effects.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Does Medical Insurance Integration Reduce Frailty Risk? Evidence From Rural Older Adults in China. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B, 2024. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B can be contacted at: Oxford Univ Press Inc, Journals Dept, 2001 Evans Rd, Cary, NC 27513, USA.

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Yujia Guo, School of Health Policy & Management, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbae112. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Publisher contact information for the The Journals of Gerontology, Series B is: Oxford Univ Press Inc, Journals Dept, 2001 Evans Rd, Cary, NC 27513, USA.

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