Objective: To estimate and compare the dementia-free life expectancy (DemFLE) and age trends of the population over 60 in 2018 in Jiangxi Province, China, by sex and urban-rural areas.
Methods: Based on the Summary of Health Statistics of Jiangxi Province in 2018 and the Sixth National Health Service survey of Jiangxi Province, the model life table is used to estimate the age-specific mortality rate by sex and urban-rural areas. DemFLE and its ratio to life expectancy (LE) were calculated using the Sullivan method.
Results: In 2018, the DemFLE at age 60 was 18.48 years for men and 21.31 years for women, accounting for 96.62% and 96.67% of their LE. LE and DemFLE were higher for those in urban areas than in rural areas, except for men aged 90 and above; higher in women than in men, except for people in rural areas aged 90 and above. In urban areas, DemFLE/LE was higher for women than for men; the opposite was observed in rural areas. Urban women had a higher DemFLE/LE than rural women did, urban men had a lower DemFLE/LE than rural men did.
Conclusions: With increased LE, DemFLE also increases, but with older age and over time, DemFLE/LE gradually decreases. The effect of dementia on elderly adults becomes more serious. It is necessary for the government to implement a series of prevention strategies to improve the quality of life and health awareness of the elderly. Elderly urban men and elderly rural women need more attention and health care.
Keywords: dementia; dementia-free life expectancy; elderly Chinese; urban–rural areas.