Birth cohort and social change decreased quality of life among older adults: A cross-temporal meta-analysis, 1999–2017

Quality of life (QoL) has become an essential goal of contemporary healthcare and protective psychological resources. Individual life expectancy has increased with improved social progress, healthcare, nutrition and advanced health-related technologies. However, research often overlooks the significant impact of social change and generational effects on the QoL of the ageing population. As people age, optimising opportunities for health, participation and safety to improve QoL has become crucial for society, policymakers and researchers. This study utilised a cross-temporal meta-analysis to investigate changes in the QoL among older adults from 1999 to 2017. Fifty two studies (N = 34,844) that used the Brief Health Status Survey Scale (SF-36) were analysed. Direct and lagged correlation analyses were performed to examine the relationship between changes in the QoL of older adults and the macro social environment. The findings showed that QoL decreased by 7.94 points (d = −0.50) over the past 18 years. Economic status, social connectedness, and general threats were significant predictors of declining QoL among older adults. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.