Poorer people suffer from loss of mobility and physical independence years sooner than those who are wealthier, according to a new study.
It found a significant “wealth gap” among older people in England, with poorer people showing signs of reduced physical function up to 15 years earlier than richer people of the same age.
“We could see that being less wealthy… means losing physical independence faster as you age”
Stephanie Schrempft
The researchers found that the impact of wealth on physical functioning in older people in England was still significant even when factors such as chronic illness, weight status and smoking and alcohol consumption were taken into account.
The study, published today in the journal PLOS Medicine, also found that this wealth gap was more severe among older people in England than in a similar cohort in Canada.
The study included data from more than 8,500 people from England and 22,600 people from Canada aged 50-85 who took part in a longitudinal study of ageing between 2012 and 2023.
The socioeconomic status of the people was determined based on their household wealth at the start of the study.
The participants completed a set of tests of physical function several times over the course of the study.
These tests included measurements of gait speed, grip strength, speed to standing from a chair and lung function. It also included hearing and sight assessments and self-reported difficulties in daily living.
The researchers then compared the physical functioning scores of participants who were in the lowest 25% of household wealth at the start of the study with those in the top 25%.
They found that across all assessments of physical function, older people with the least wealth performed less well than those with the most wealth.
On average the least wealthy of the English cohort at age 60 had the same gait speed as the most wealthy at 75 years old.
And at 60 the least wealthy had the same level of difficulty with activities of daily living as the most wealthy at 80 years old.
At age 75 there was a difference of 12 years in functional age between the least and most wealthy of the English cohort compared to a difference of six years in the Canadian cohort, the researchers found.
They said that the fact that the wealth inequalities in functional ageing did not seem to be related to chronic health conditions, weight or behavioural risk factors highlighted the importance of ensuring sufficient financial support for people as they age.
Lead study author Stephanie Schrempft, from the Division of Primary Care Medicine at Geneva University Hospitals in Switzerland, said: “By following older adults in England and Canada side by side, we could see that being less wealthy does not just mean worse health on average, it means losing physical independence faster as you age.”
Senior author on the study, Silvia Stringhini, professor in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia, said: “What struck us most was how much larger the wealth gaps were in England than in Canada.”
She added: “For something as basic as walking speed, the least wealthy were functionally older by roughly 15 years in England versus nine in Canada.”
