Modelling healthy ageing in South Africa: a network analysis of intrinsic capacities.
Background The rapidly increasing older adult population in sub-Saharan Africa necessitates an understanding of how health domains interact to shape healthy ageing. Existing approaches overlook complex interdependencies between cognitive, physical, emotional, and functional capacities. This study ap...
| Publicado en: | Age & Ageing Vol. 55; no. 3; pp. 1 - 10 |
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| Autores principales: | , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
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Oxford University Press / USA
Mar2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=192797139&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 192797139 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00020729 AGA jtl: Age & Ageing issn: 00020729 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Mar2026 vid: 55 iid: 3 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 192797139 10.1093/ageing/afag074 ppf: 1 ppct: 9 formats: tig: atl: Modelling healthy ageing in South Africa: a network analysis of intrinsic capacities. aug: au: Ugwu, Lawrence Ejike Idemudia, Erhabor Sunday affil: North-West University - Mafikeng Campus – Humanities, Humanities, North-West University, Mafikeng South Africa, North West Province, Mahikeng 2790, South AfricaCentre for Applied Psychology and Public Health Research in Africa (CAPPHRA), Enugu, 400001, Nigeria North-West University - Mafikeng Campus – Humanities, Humanities, North-West University, Mafikeng South Africa, North West Province, Mahikeng 2790, South Africa su: South Africa Self-evaluation Cross-sectional method Sex distribution Socioeconomic factors Emotions Physical fitness Active aging Activities of daily living Mental depression Statistical models Cognitive testing Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Descriptive statistics Gait in humans Longitudinal method Geriatric assessment Cognition disorders Data analysis software Grip strength Sensitivity & specificity (Statistics) sug: subj: Self-evaluation Cross-sectional method Sex distribution Socioeconomic factors Emotions Physical fitness Active aging Activities of daily living Mental depression South Africa Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers Statistical models Cognitive testing Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Descriptive statistics Gait in humans Longitudinal method Geriatric assessment Cognition disorders Data analysis software Grip strength Sensitivity & specificity (Statistics) keyword: activities of daily living activities of daily living (ADL) africa south of the sahara cognition cognitive ability cognitive function copyrightHolder:British Geriatrics Society copyrightYear:2026 depressive disorders emotions functional ability gender gender differences healthy aging https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afag074 inLanguage:en intrinsic capacity mental processes mental recall network analysis older adult older people physical function publisher:Oxford University Press rural health sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41934515/ socioeconomic factors south africa sub-Saharan Africa world health organization activities of daily living activities of daily living (ADL) africa south of the sahara cognition cognitive ability cognitive function copyrightHolder:British Geriatrics Society copyrightYear:2026 depressive disorders emotions functional ability gender gender differences healthy aging https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afag074 inLanguage:en intrinsic capacity mental processes mental recall network analysis older adult older people physical function publisher:Oxford University Press rural health sameAs:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41934515/ socioeconomic factors south africa sub-Saharan Africa world health organization ab: Background The rapidly increasing older adult population in sub-Saharan Africa necessitates an understanding of how health domains interact to shape healthy ageing. Existing approaches overlook complex interdependencies between cognitive, physical, emotional, and functional capacities. This study applies network analysis to model these relationships in a large cohort of older adults in rural South Africa. Methods We analysed data from 4783 participants (aged ≥40) in the 2021–2022 wave of the HAALSI study. Mixed Graphical Models (MGMs) were estimated from a mixed correlation matrix to assess conditional associations among 12 variables spanning cognitive function, depressive symptoms, physical capacity, self-rated health, and socioeconomic status. Central and bridge nodes were identified, and gender-stratified networks were compared. Results The network revealed strong interconnectivity among intrinsic capacity domains. Cognitive function (delayed recall) and functional ability (ADL limitations) emerged as the most central nodes, with self-rated health and depressive symptoms as key bridges. While global network strength and structure did not differ significantly by gender, men's networks were anchored around cognitive function, whereas women's were more centred on physical functioning. Depressive symptom clustering was denser among women. Conclusions Intrinsic capacity domains are tightly coupled in rural South African older adults; cognition and ADL limitations are pivotal. Subtle gender differences in network structure suggest a need for tailored, multidomain interventions. These findings support the WHO Healthy Ageing framework and highlight the utility of network models for identifying intervention leverage points in low-resource settings. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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