[Health status of rural elderly with migrant children and associated factors]

To determine the influence of children migration on the health of rural elderly in Sichuan province, and to provide reference for the subsequent research and health policy making.

Data used in the analysis were extracted from the expanded database for Western China collected in the Fourth National Health Survey in Sichuan province. The prevalence of acute illness in two weeks and the prevalence of chronic illness in the rural elderly were analysed and compared between those with different demographic characteristics and those with and without migrant children using a bivariate multi-level regression model.

The prevalence of acute illness in two weeks and the prevalence of chronic illness in the rural elderly with migrant children were 44.0% and 44.5% respectively, significantly higher than the average level of elderly population in western rural China. No significant differences in the prevalence of two-week acute illness and the prevalence of chronic illness were observed in spite of the differences in the rank orders of diseases between whose with and without migrant children. Gender, children migration and living arrangements had a significant influence on the prevalence of acute illness in two weeks and the prevalence of chronic illness of the rural elderly. The influence of children migration differed between those who shared houses with other children and those who did not (alone or with spouse/grandchildren).

Rural elderly with migrant children have poorer health than those without migrant children, especially those who live alone or with spouses and grandchildren only. The elderly with migrant children bear a greater burden of spinal disk disease perhaps because of their heavier physical workload. Greater attention needs to be paid to the health of the rural elderly with migrant children.