Healthy ageing for disabled older adults needs group-specific pathway approaches.

A study by Cai, Jiang and Li published in the International Journal of Equity Health presents function-specific pathway models and a group difference perspective to examine factors shaping healthy ageing among disabled older adults, using large-scale longitudinal data and advanced modeling.

Recent research by Cai, Jiang and Li, published in the International Journal of Equity Health, examines healthy ageing among disabled older adults. The authors combine a group difference perspective with function-specific pathway models. They analyze large-scale longitudinal data and apply advanced statistical and machine learning methods. The work highlights how biological, psychosocial, and environmental factors interact differently across disability subgroups. Key findings: - The study finds that disabled older adults are a heterogeneous group and that aggregated approaches can obscure important subgroup differences. - Function-specific pathway models are used to map biological, psychological, and social mechanisms linking different impairments to health outcomes. - Analyses using large-scale longitudinal data and machine learning identify nonlinear interactions, for example between cognitive decline and social isolation, that vary by subgroup. - Environmental equity and intersecting social determinants such as income, race, and geographic location shape outcomes unevenly across disability groups. - Psychosocial factors, including social participation and community connectedness, act as important moderators within the identified pathways. Summary: The study indicates that more granular, data-driven analyses can clarify how different functional impairments and social conditions shape ageing trajectories for disabled elders, with implications for research, services, and policy design. The authors suggest further data refinement, cross-national comparative work, and participatory research involving disabled older adults to keep models aligned with lived experience. These proposals are presented as ways to advance understanding and equity in ageing research and practice.