The association between frailty, care receipt and unmet need for care with the risk of hospital admissions.

Background: Frailty is characterised by a decline in physical, cognitive, energy, and health reserves and is linked to greater functional dependency and higher social care utilisation. However, the relationship between receiving care, or receiving insufficient care among older people with different frailty status and the risk of unplanned admission to hospital for any cause, or the risk of falls and fractures remains unclear.

Methods And Findings: This study used information from 7,656 adults aged 60 and older participating in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) waves 6-8.

The prevalence of common mental disorders across 18 ethnic groups in Britain during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS).

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted mental health in the general population in Britain. Ethnic minority people suffered disproportionately, in terms of health and economic outcomes, which may contribute to poorer mental health. We compare the prevalence of depression and anxiety across 18 ethnic groups in Britain during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Quality of ethnicity data within Scottish health records and implications of misclassification for ethnic inequalities in severe COVID-19: a national linked data study.

Background: We compared the quality of ethnicity coding within the Public Health Scotland Ethnicity Look-up (PHS-EL) dataset, and other National Health Service datasets, with the 2011 Scottish Census.

Methods: Measures of quality included the level of missingness and misclassification. We examined the impact of misclassification using Cox proportional hazards to compare the risk of severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (hospitalization & death) by ethnic group.

Ethnic inequalities in positive SARS-CoV-2 tests, infection prognosis, COVID-19 hospitalisations and deaths: analysis of 2 years of a record linked national cohort study in Scotland.

Background: This study aims to estimate ethnic inequalities in risk for positive SARS-CoV-2 tests, COVID-19 hospitalisations and deaths over time in Scotland.

Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study where the 2011 Scottish Census was linked to health records. We included all individuals ≥ 16 years living in Scotland on 1 March 2020.

Association between an inflammatory biomarker score and future dementia diagnosis in the population-based UK Biobank cohort of 500,000 people.

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between a systematic inflammatory biomarker measure, concurrent and later cognitive performance, and future dementia risk. The literature has reported the potential involvement of inflammation in cognitive performance as well as Alzheimer's Disease, but not consistently. We used a population-based cohort of 500,000 people in the UK and assessed the association between a composite inflammatory biomarker and cognitive performance measures across five domains measured concurrently and 4-13 years later, taking advantage of the large sample size.

Pathways to ethnic inequalities in COVID-19 health outcomes in the United Kingdom: A systematic map.

Background: Marked ethnic inequalities in COVID-19 infection and its consequences have been documented. The aim of this paper is to identify the range and nature of evidence on potential pathways which lead to ethnic inequalities in COVID-19 related health outcomes in the United Kingdom (UK).

Methods: We searched six bibliographic and five grey literature databases from 1 December 2019 to 23 February 2022 for research on pathways to ethnic inequalities in COVID-19 health outcomes in the UK.

Household wealth, neighbourhood deprivation and frailty amongst middle-aged and older adults in England: a longitudinal analysis over 15 years (2002-2017).

Background: frailty is a condition of reduced function and health due to ageing processes and is associated with a higher risk of falls, hospitalisation, disability and mortality.

Objective: to determine the relationship between household wealth and neighbourhood deprivation with frailty status, independently of demographic factors, educational attainment and health behaviours.

Design: population-based cohort study.

The enduring effects of racism on health: Understanding direct and indirect effects over time.

Experiences of racism and racial discrimination are associated with poorer mental and physical health outcomes for people from minoritised ethnic groups. One mechanism by which racism leads to poor health is through reduced socio-economic resources, but the evidence documenting the direct and indirect effects of racism on health via socio-economic inequality over time is under-developed. The central aims of this paper are to better understand how racism affects health over time, by age, and via the key mechanism of socio-economic inequality.

How Do Women and Men Negotiate Sex in Later Life Relationships? A Qualitative Analysis of Data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging.

Later life relationships and in particular the role of sex within them, have often been neglected in research due to assumptions of decline and sexlessness. We contribute to a growing body of work which counters these stereotypes by examining sexual scripts within the socio-cultural context of later life relationships. We analyzed open-text comments from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA) collected as part of a self-completion questionnaire.

Gender differences in rural-urban migration and its impact on depression in later life.

Although rural-to-urban migration has been well researched, how gender shapes processes and outcomes, including later-life health outcomes, has not been thoroughly investigated. Guided by a life course perspective, this study explores gender differences in rural-urban migration patterns and its association with depression in later life among Chinese older adults. Exploiting rich life history data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we employ sequence analysis to identify the typical migration trajectories of Chinese older adults.

The practice of participatory action research: Complicity, power and prestige in dialogue with the 'racialised mad'.

Mental health service users in the UK have become increasingly involved in research over the last 2 decades partly as a consequence of research governance. Ethnic minority service users, however, point to power imbalances stemming from marginalisation and discrimination creating barriers to knowledge co-production (Kalathil, J. (2013).

Region of birth differences in healthcare navigation and optimisation: the interplay of racial discrimination and socioeconomic position.

Background: While a large body of research has documented socioeconomic and migrant inequities in the effective use of healthcare services, the reasons underlying such inequities are yet to be fully understood. This study assesses the interplay between racial discrimination and socioeconomic position, as conceptualised by Bourdieu, and their contributions to healthcare navigation and optimisation.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional survey in Luxembourg we collected data from individuals with wide-ranging migration and socioeconomic profiles.

Racism as the fundamental cause of ethnic inequities in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: A theoretical framework and empirical exploration using the UK Household Longitudinal Study.

Ethnic inequities in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy have been reported in the United Kingdom (UK), and elsewhere. Explanations have mainly focused on differences in the level of concern about side effects, and in lack of trust in the development and efficacy of vaccines. Here we propose that racism is the fundamental cause of ethnic inequities in vaccine hesitancy.

The relationship between rural to urban migration in China and risk of depression in later life: An investigation of life course effects.

Background: Migrating between rural and urban areas over the life course profoundly shapes the conditions of later life. In the Chinese context, living in urban areas with an urban Hukou is associated with socioeconomic advantage. This study attempts to investigate how migration into urban areas in China is related to these processes and the association with risk of depression in later life by focusing on the timing and the type of migration (rural-urban residential mobility and/or institutional transition of Hukou status).

Evidence for ethnic inequalities in mortality related to COVID-19 infections: findings from an ecological analysis of England.

Objectives: In the absence of robust direct data on ethnic inequalities in COVID-19-related mortality in the UK, we examine the relationship between ethnic composition of an area and rate of mortality in the area.

Design: Ecological analysis of COVID-19-related mortality rates occurring by 24 April 2020 and ethnic composition of the population. Account is taken of age, population density, area deprivation and pollution.

Healthcare system performance and socioeconomic inequalities in hearing and visual impairments in 17 European countries.

Background: Socioeconomic status is associated with health status among older adults, including hearing and vision impairments, and healthcare system performance is an important consideration in examining that association. We explored the link between a country's healthcare system performance and the hearing and visual impairments of its people in Europe.

Methods: This study enrolled 65 332 individuals aged 50+ from 17 countries participating in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe Wave 6.

The Impact of Volunteering and Its Characteristics on Well-being After State Pension Age: Longitudinal Evidence From the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Objectives: Volunteering after retirement age is beneficial to well-being. This study furthers previous research by presenting a longitudinal analysis of the well-being of volunteers, compared to non-volunteers, based on characteristics of the voluntary work in which they participate.

Method: Participants were 3,740 people aged State Pension Age and over from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Trajectories of recall memory as predictive of hearing impairment: A longitudinal cohort study.

Objectives: Accumulating evidence points to a relationship between hearing function and cognitive ability in later life. However, the exact mechanisms of this relationship are still unclear. This study aimed to characterise latent cognitive trajectories in recall memory and identify their association with subsequent risk of hearing impairment.

Area effects on the level and development of social exclusion in later life.

Social exclusion in later life is associated with decreased quality of life and poorer health outcomes. Reducing the number of people at risk of exclusion is a key theme in European social policy, but there is limited understanding of the relationship between neighbourhood characteristics, personal attributes and the level and development of social exclusion in later life. In this paper, cross-classified multilevel growth curve models for predicting exclusion are fitted to seven waves of data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, collected between 2002 and 2015, allowing for the investigation of causal mechanisms linking area characteristics and exclusion in later life, including access to services and amenities, participation in civic, cultural and leisure activities and relationships with friends and family.

Air quality and obesity at older ages in China: The role of duration, severity and pollutants.

Background: Population ageing and air pollution have emerged as two of the most pressing challenges in China. However, little evidence has explored the impact of air pollution on obesity among older adults in China.

Methods: The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study-a nationally representative sample of middle-aged and older Chinese was linked to the air pollution data at the city level.

A Bourdieusian approach to class-related inequalities: the role of capitals and capital structure in the utilisation of healthcare services in later life.

This paper draws on Bourdieu's theory of economic, social and cultural capital to understand the relative effect of the volume and the composition of these capitals on healthcare service use in later life. Based on data from the fifth wave of the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (n = 64,840), we first look at the contribution of each capital in the use of three healthcare services (general practitioner, dentist and hospital). Using cluster analysis, we then mobilise Bourdieu's concept of habitus to explain how the unequal distribution of material and non-material capitals acquired in childhood lead to different levels of health and hospital care utilisation in later life.