Study on the association between physical health and elder abuse in China

Objective To examine the association between physical health and abuse among elders in China, and to provide evidence for prevention and control of elder abuse. Methods Based on the third survey on the Status of Chinese women organized by the All-China Women's Federation and the National Bureau of Statistics, 9 057 subjects aged 65 and older were included in the current study. Their general information, including physical health condition and elder abuse were collected during the survey. Pearson test, Chi-square test and multiple Logistic regression were used for data analysis. Results The prevalence of elder abuse was 6.39%. Elder physical health condition was positively correlated with elder abuse (r_s=0.064,P<0.001). The worse physical condition they were in, the higher risk of being abused they would face. After adjusting potential confounding factors, the odds ratios of elder abuse were 1.59(95% CI: 1.19-2.12) and 2.10(95% CI: 1.61-2.71) among elder people with one disease and two diseases, respectively. Conclusions High prevalence of elder abuse was observed in China. Elder people's physical conditions were positively correlated with the risk of being abused by other family members.