Determinants of General Health Status and Specific Diseases of Elderly Women and Men: A Longitudinal Analysis for Western and Eastern Germany

We used the panel data of the German Life Expectancy Survey (LES) for analysing the impactof specific life conditions on the gender-specific health outcome of respondents aged 60+ atfollow-up over a period of 13 years (for western Germany) and 7 years (for eastern Germany)respectively. For western Germany we extended the analysis by additional information aboutlife course experiences with unemployment, smoking behaviour, reproduction history andmigration background. We analysed self-rated general health as well as the self-reportedabsence and prevalence of specific diseases which are directly related to the main causes ofdeath and disabilities. Moreover, we analysed death and attrition as competing risks atfollow-up in order to control for selection effects to the health outcome. The analysis wasseparated by sex to account for gender-specific life conditions. The results confirm existingknowledge regarding socioeconomic differences and offer insights into the influence of healthlifestyles, in particular sports activity and smoking history. Further, associations were foundbetween the earlier presence of diseases and the health condition at follow-up. Genderdifferences in health outcomes are partly explained by the higher mortality of males and thehigher number of non-respondents among females. The study extends the knowledge aboutrisk factors for health in Germany by a longitudinal approach and emphasises the importanceof earlier life stage intervention to reduce disease-specific risk factors