AUSTERITY KILLS
England’s oldest became frailer during austerity, study suggests
The speed at which England’s oldest adults became frailer accelerated during the UK Government’s era of austerity politics, according to a new study.
The speed at which England’s oldest adults became frailer accelerated during the UK Government’s era of austerity politics, according to a new study.
Researchers say that the rate of frailty in people aged 85 and over in England increased 50 per cent faster per year between 2012 and 2018 compared with the preceding eight years.
The impact of frailty – a decline in a person’s mental and physical resilience to illness and injury – on the oldest in society must be considered should any new austerity measures be introduced, experts warn.
The study, led by researchers from the University of Edinburgh’s Advanced Care Research Centre, analysed data from 16,410 people in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a nationally representative sample of the English population aged at least 50 between 2002 and 2018.
Researchers combined this with the frailty index, which captures broad age-related declines in functional ability and physical and mental health.
The sample had an average age of 67 years and an average frailty index score of 0.15 (on a scale of 0 to 1, with 1 being maximum frailty).
Researchers found that frailty index scores increased more rapidly across all genders and socio-economic groups during the study period but it was particularly noticeable in the oldest people.
Frailty levels dropped in the 2000s but experienced a steep increase in the 2010s, when the UK government introduced a wave of public spending cuts in response to the 2008 global financial crisis, with all ages losing improvements that had been made.
For the oldest, the improvements were lost entirely, and they were frailer than those of the same age living in the prior decade, experts say.
The researchers did not examine why public sector cuts might cause these changes, but they say the findings correspond with the flattening of life expectancy seen in the 2010s, with higher mortality rates particularly seen in the eldest.
Dr Carys Pugh, Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, said: “A key implication of this research should be a recognition that public spending reductions likely have negative impacts on health and, in turn, mortality, particularly amongst the oldest in society. Frailty normally increases with age but as we emerge from the pandemic and into a cost of living crisis, any new austerity measures need careful consideration given their potential impact on long-term health, especially among the eldest who appear particularly vulnerable.”
The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0296014 [link will be live when embargo has lifted].
JOURNAL
PLoS ONE
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Observational study
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
People
ARTICLE TITLE
Frailty before and during austerity: A time series analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing 2002-2018
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
7-Feb-2024
UK austerity politics correlated with increased frailty in the oldest adults
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The period of austerity politics from 2012 to 2018 was associated with steeper increases in frailty with age compared to pre-austerity between 2002 and 2010, according to a new study published February 7th in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Carys Pugh of the University of Edinburgh, UK, and colleagues.
Previous research has linked a stalling in life expectancy growth to austerity politics implemented in response to the 2008-2009 financial crisis. However, the mechanism through which public spending cuts are associated with decreased life expectancy has been unclear.
In the new study, researchers analyzed data on the frailty index, which captures broad age-related declines in functional ability and physical and mental health. The analysis included 16,410 people enrolled in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing 2002-2018 with a mean age of 67 years and a mean frailty index score of 0.15 (on a scale of 0 to 1, with 1 being maximum frailty).
The study found that frailty index scores increased more rapidly with age after implementation of austerity policies. This was the case for all population groups, across genders and socioeconomic groups, but was particularly so for the oldest people. For instance, among the poorest women aged 85+, the frailty index increased an average of 0.013 per year in the 8-year pre-austerity period (2002-2010) but increased by 0.021 per year, two thirds as much again, in the 6-year austerity period (2012-2018).
The additional increase in frailty for all ages from 2012 to 2018 was similar in magnitude to the difference in mean frailty score between people 5 years apart – those aged 65-69 and those aged 70-74.
The authors conclude that frailty may be one mechanism through which public spending reductions have negative impacts on health and mortality, particularly among the oldest people in society. New austerity measures, they write, need careful consideration given their potential impact on long-term health.
The authors add: “Compared to the 2000s, we found that older people in England were becoming more frail, more quickly during the 2010s, and that frailty was particularly common in the poorest in society. Our work is another warning about the possible impacts of austerity on the health of an ageing nation.”
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In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS ONE: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0296014
Citation: Pugh C, Eke C, Seth S, Guthrie B, Marshall A (2024) Frailty before and during austerity: A time series analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing 2002–2018. PLoS ONE 19(2): e0296014. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296014
Author Countries: UK
Funding: This research was funded by the Legal & General Group (research grant to establish the independent Advanced Care Research Centre at University of Edinburgh). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
JOURNAL
PLoS ONE
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Observational study
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
People
ARTICLE TITLE
Frailty before and during austerity: A time series analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing 2002–2018
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
7-Feb-2024
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