Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40660893›Full record

ArticleHealth policy and planning2025

Enhancing the well-being of the elderly: evidence from China on the role of health investment.

Lili Zheng, Wenxuan Fan, Hongli Xiang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health policy and planning, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Lili ZhengSchool of Insurance, Central University of Finance and Economics, 39 South College Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100081, China.ORCID 0009-0001-9945-1199
Wenxuan FanSchool of Insurance, Central University of Finance and Economics, 39 South College Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100081, China.
Hongli XiangSchool of Insurance, Central University of Finance and Economics, 39 South College Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100081, China.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 72272171
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Subjective well-being (SWB) is increasingly recognized as a critical indicator of healthy ageing. While prior studies highlight the importance of health behaviours, few examine how multidimensional health investments influence SWB across different levels of well-being. This paper explores the relationship between health investment and SWB among older adults in China, using data from the 2018 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. Health investment is categorized into 4 domains: nutrition, healthcare access (insurance coverage and health product use), lifestyle behaviours (including exercise, smoking, and drinking), and living environment (access to clean drinking water). Quantile regression models are applied to assess heterogeneous effects across the SWB distribution, while mediation analysis investigates the role of self-rated health and functional health (activities of daily living) as potential pathways. Results show that the positive effects of nutrition and exercise are the most pronounced among individuals with lower SWB, while smoking and drinking exhibit stronger negative associations in this group. Mediation results suggest that perceived health plays a more consistent role than functional status in translating health investment into higher well-being. The impact of insurance is observed primarily through interaction effects, magnifying benefits from healthy behaviours and buffering risks from harmful ones. These findings point to the need for equity-sensitive ageing policies that target both health behaviours and social protection. Specifically, integrating social work and behavioural counselling into primary health outreach may help address substance-related risks and psychological vulnerabilities among the elderly. This evidence has wider relevance for ageing societies, particularly in low- and middle-income countries aiming to align health system goals with subjective well-being outcomes.

Indexed as

Health StatusHealthy AgingActivities of Daily LivingAgedAged, 80 and overChinaExerciseFemaleHealth BehaviorHealth Services AccessibilityHumansLife StyleLongitudinal StudiesMaleNutritional Statuselderlyhealth economicshealth policyhealth systemsnutrition

Identifiers

PMID40660893
PMCPMC12448818

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.