Perceived Income Adequacy and Well-being Among Older Adults in Six Low- and Middle-Income Countries

OBJECTIVES: Perceived income adequacy is positively associated with self-rated health (SRH) and quality of life (QOL) among adults in higher-income countries. Additionally, older individuals often report higher levels of income adequacy. However, it is unclear if these associations, documented primarily in high-income countries, are also evident across economically and culturally distinctive low- and middle-income countries. METHODS: Data were drawn from the World Health Organization's Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE), a study of adults aged 50 years or older in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, the Russian Federation, and South Africa. Smaller samples of younger adults (18-49 years) were included for comparison purposes. Participants reported income adequacy, SRH, and QOL. Associations between age and income adequacy and between income adequacy and SRH/QOL were examined using country-specific logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Older adults in China and Russia were more likely to report better income adequacy than their 18- to 49-year-old counterparts; however, the opposite was observed in Ghana and India. SRH and QOL improved as income adequacy increased in all countries. DISCUSSION: As expected, income adequacy was correlated with SRH and QOL. However, the relationship between age and income adequacy varied cross-culturally, potentially due to differences in familial and governmental financial support.This work was supported by WHO and the U.S. National Institute on Aging through Interagency Agreements with WHO (OGHA 04034785, YA1323-08-CN-0020, and Y1-AG-1005-01) and through research grants (R01-AG034479 and R21-AG034263)