DOI: 10.3886/icpsr36179
title: Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), 1998-2012
title: Archival Version

description: The Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) provides information on health status and quality of life of the elderly aged 65 and older in 22 provinces of China in the period 1998 to 2012. The study was conducted to shed light on the determinants of healthy human longevity and oldest-old mortality. To this end, data were collected on a large percent of the oldest population, including centenarian and nonagenarian; the CLHLS provides information on the health, socioeconomic characteristics, family, lifestyle, and demographic profile of this aged population. Data are provided on respondents' health conditions, daily functioning, self-perceptions of health status and quality of life, life satisfaction, mental attitude, and feelings about aging. Respondents were asked about their diet and nutrition, use of medical services, and drinking and smoking habits, including how long ago they quit either or both. They were also asked about their physical activities, reading habits, television viewing, and religious activities, and were tested for motor skills, memory, and visual functioning. In order to ascertain their current state of health, respondents were asked if they suffered from such health conditions as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, emphysema, asthma, tuberculosis, cataracts, glaucoma, gastric or duodenal ulcer, arthritis, Parkinson's disease, bedsores, or other chronic diseases. They were also asked if they needed assistance with bathing, dressing, toileting, or feeding, and who provided help in times of illness. Other questions focused on siblings, parents, and children, the frequency of family visits, and the distance lived from each other. Demographic and background variables include age, sex, ethnicity, place of birth, marital history and status, history of childbirth, living arrangements, education, main occupation before age 60, and sources of financial support.
description: The data are not weighted. This collection contains the following weights which should be used in any analysis: W_1998 (Dataset 1), W_2000 (Dataset 2), W_2002 (Dataset 3), W_2005 (Dataset 4), W_2008 (Dataset 5) and W_2011 (Dataset 6). The weight is estimated based on the estimated numbers of elderly persons by age, sex, and rural/urban residence in 2011-2012 derived from the 6th census conducted in 2010 for the 22 provinces of China where the 2011-2012 follow-up survey was conducted. The total number of the weighted individual cases of the survey is equal to the total sample size.
description: Response Rates: The response rate was 97.7 percent.
description: Presence of Common Scales: The following scales were used in this collection: Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Activities of Daily Living (ADL).
description: All centenarians from the randomly selected counties and cities of 22 provinces in China who agreed to participate in the study. For each centenarian, one octogenarian aged 80-89 living nearby, one nearby nonagenarian aged 90-99, and one nearby younger elder aged 65-79 of predesignated age and sex were interviewed.
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: 1998-2012 Longitudinal Data, Version 1 DS2: 2000-2012 Longitudinal Data, Version 1 DS3: 2002-2012 Longitudinal Data, Version 1 DS4: 2005-2012 Longitudinal Data, Version 1 DS5: 2008-2012 Longitudinal Data, Version 1 DS6: 2011-2012 Cross-Sectional Data, Version 1
description: The most elderly population in the counties and cities of 22 provinces in China during the period 1998-2012. Additionally, for the time period of 2002-2012, the younger elderly population of the same provinces were interviewed. Smallest Geographic Unit: province
description: face-to-face interview; self-enumerated questionnaireICPSR removed variables throughout this collection to protect respondent anonymity. Please refer to the ICPSR Codebooks for further information.Additional information about the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey as well as study design can be found at the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development Web site.