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The proliferation of old age homes and increasing numbers of elderly living alone are startling new phenomena in India. These trends are related to extensive overseas migration and the transnational dispersal of families. In this moving and insightful account, Sarah Lamb shows that older persons are innovative agents in the processes of social-cultural change. Lamb's study probes debates and cultural assumptions in both India and the United States regarding how best to age; the proper social-moral relationship among individuals, genders, families, the market, and the state; and ways of finding meaning in the human life course.

Explore Indian policy and practice on aging from a variety of perspectives! This pathbreaking collection provides something that has been missing in the literature on aging in India, especially for non-Indian audiences: studies of various aspects of aging in India combined with analyses of current policies, policy trends and recommendations. You'll examine aging issues from a variety of perspectives-demographic foundations, social and family relations, economics, health and disability, current interventions, and advocacy and policy. An Aging India also provides you with up-to-date references, explanations of differences and similarities within India's diverse population, examples of programs in various settings including a geriatric hospital, a major NGO, and old-age homes, and an overview of the development of India's national policy on aging. Where appropriate, comparisons with U.S. policy approaches are noted. An Aging India: Perspectives, Prospects, and Policies examines: the demography of aging in India the current state of research on aging, and the pitfalls associated with that research income, poverty, and the problems created by the lack of any widespread retirement income system in India the health status of Indian elders and what their healthcare prospects are the situation for the disabled elderly in India elder abuse in the Indian context social networks and grassroots organizations for seniors in India the role of Indian geriatric hospitals and old-age homes The insights of the top researchers and practitioners who contributed to An Aging India: Perspectives, Prospects, and Policies will strike home with their counterparts around the world. Make this book a part of your professional/teaching collection today!

Background Functional independence is a cornerstone of healthy aging, yet its erosion due to mental health disorders remains understudied in low- and middle-income countries. In India, where over 30% of older adults exhibit depressive symptoms, depression may be strongly associated with physical dependency. The study aims to examine the association between depression and functional limitations—measured through a composite ADL-IADL index—among Indian older adults using nationally representative LASI data. Methods A cross-sectional analytical design was employed using LASI Wave 1 data ( N  = 28,088). Depression status (CES-D score ≥ 4) served as the treatment variable, and functional limitation score (range: 0–13) as the outcome. Propensity score matching with caliper (0.01 SD) was applied to control for confounders, followed by ATT estimation and sensitivity analysis. Results After matching, depression was associated with an increase in functional limitations by an average of 0.69 points (95% CI: 0.61–0.77, p  < 0.001). Higher prevalence of functional limitations was also observed among older adults reporting pain, sleep difficulty, multimorbidity, and low physical activity. Matching diagnostics confirmed covariate balance and robustness to unmeasured confounding. Conclusion Depression strongly associated with late-life disability in India. Addressing mental health may contribute to dual benefits—enhancing psychosocial well-being and preserving functional autonomy in aging. Given the cross-sectional nature of the data, findings should be interpreted as associative rather than causal.

This rich ethnography explores beliefs and practices surrounding aging in a rural Bengali village. Sarah Lamb focuses on how villagers' visions of aging are tied to the making and unmaking of gendered selves and social relations over a lifetime. Lamb uses a focus on age as a means not only to open up new ways of thinking about South Asian social life, but also to contribute to contemporary theories of gender, the body, and culture, which have been hampered, the book argues, by a static focus on youth. Lamb's own experiences in the village are an integral part of her book and ably convey the cultural particularities of rural Bengali life and Bengali notions of modernity. In exploring ideals of family life and the intricate interrelationships between and within generations, she enables us to understand how people in the village construct, and deconstruct, their lives. At the same time her study extends beyond India to contemporary attitudes about aging in the United States. This accessible and engaging book is about deeply human issues and will appeal not only to specialists in South Asian culture, but to anyone interested in families, aging, gender, religion, and the body.

Background India’s ageing population presents new health challenges, particularly the rising burden of lung diseases like Asthma and COPD among middle-aged and older adults. These conditions weaken individuals and heighten the risk of geriatric complications. Understanding their interplay with socio-economic, demographic, and household factors is essential for informed public health interventions. Objectives and methods This study investigates the growing burden of Asthma and COPD among Indian individuals aged 45 years and above using LASI Wave 1 data. Unadjusted prevalence was calculated across predictor variables. Poisson regression identified factors associated with Asthma and COPD, while logistic regression examined their unadjusted and adjusted associations with geriatric syndromes. Results The study reveals that the prevalence of Asthma and COPD among individuals aged 45 years and above is 4.38% and 2.1%. It reveals distinct yet overlapping risk patterns for both Asthma and COPD. For both diseases, the risk increases significantly with age, particularly for those aged 60 years and above, and is higher among wealthier individuals and those belonging to SC, OBC, or non-classified social groups. Women are less likely to suffer from both diseases, while discontinued smoking elevates the risk for both. Employment status influences both conditions differently, those currently working are less likely to have COPD and Asthma. Household factors such as the absence of a separate kitchen increase the risk for both diseases. Cooking on open fires and exposure to passive smoking significantly heighten the risk of COPD. Regional variations persist, with lower risk in the North-East and elevated risks in the South. Both diseases show significant association with geriatric syndromes such as ADL (1.418 for Asthma and 1.424 for COPD), IADL (1.587 for Asthma and 1.542 for COPD), and Falls ((1.172 for Asthma and 1.320 for COPD)), after adjusting for various individual and household determinants. Conclusion The study reveals complex relationships between social, individual and household factors, chronic lung diseases (Asthma and COPD), and age-related complications in India’s older population.It highlights the need for targeted treatments addressing both lung diseases and geriatric complications, guiding policymakers in framing healthcare policies to promote healthy aging in India’s diverse older population.

This chapter contains sections titled: Aging in the Joint Family: Intergenerational Reciprocity as Indian Tradition Aging and the Modern Forest: The Rise of Old Age Homes in India Independent Living as a Modern Lifestyle Legislating Parental Care: Changing Families and the State References

Background Research on the distribution and association of depression with tobacco consumption among young population is commonly prioritised in India, while studies on tobacco use among middle-aged (45–59 years) and elderly (≥ 60 years) adults are noticeably lacking. Thus, we conducted this study with the objectives of estimating the prevalence, distribution and determining the association of depression and tobacco consumption among middle-aged and elderly Indian population; overall and stratified into age group, gender, and geographical location. Methods Using dataset from Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI), a bivariate analysis was conducted among middle-aged (45–59 years) and elderly (≥ 60 years) Indians to estimate the prevalence of depression and tobacco consumption. States and Union Territories were categorised as low, medium, and high as per prevalence of depression and tobacco consumption, and spatial distribution maps were created. To reduce the confounding effects of demographic & socioeconomic and health-related & behavioural covariates; propensity score matching (PSM) was conducted. Nested multilevel regression modelling was employed to explore the association between depression (outcome variable) and tobacco consumption (explanatory variable) using STATA version 17. The p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Overall, 36.78% (36.03–37.55%) participants documented using any form of tobacco; with higher consumption of smokeless tobacco (SLT) (19.88%) than smoking (SM) (13.92%). The overall prevalence of depression was 7.62% irrespective of tobacco consumption, and 8.51% among participants consuming any form of tobacco. Mizoram had the highest consumption of tobacco in any form (78.21%), whereas Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest (14.62%) depression prevalence. Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Uttarakhand had both high prevalence of depression and any form of tobacco consumption. The average estimated treatment effect (ATE) indicated a positive association both between depression and any form of tobacco consumption ( p value = 0.001) and with smokeless tobacco ( p value = 0.001) consumption. Participants ever consuming any form of tobacco had 28% higher odds (aOR-1.28 (1.18–1.38). The odds of having depression were higher among females (aOR = 1.28 (1.17–1.41); richest (aOR-1.48 (1.32–1.65); living alone (aOR = 1.14 (1.01–1.33). Participants with comorbidity (aOR = 1.20 (1.10–1.30) and multimorbidity (aOR = 1.24 (1.13–1.36)) had higher odds of depression. Conclusion The study has established significant positive association between depression and tobacco consumption stratified into gender and age group. Prioritisation of mental health disorders like depression and tobacco prevention and cessation programmes must be implemented with focusing on females and the middle-aged population with community awareness and intersectoral collaborative effort irrespective of subnational-variations.

ABSTRACTIntroductionThe Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI) was initiated to capture data to be comparable to the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) and hence used study instruments from the HRS. However, a rigorous psychometric evaluation before adaptation of cognitive tests may have indicated bias due to diversities across Indian states such as education, ethnicity, and urbanicity. In the present analysis, we evaluated if items show differential item functioning (DIF) by literacy, urbanicity, and education status. MethodsWe calculated proportions for each item and weighted descriptive statistics of demographic characteristics in LASI. Next, we evaluated item-level measurement differences by testing for DIF using the alignment approach implemented using Mplus software. ObservationWe found that cognitive items in the LASI interview demonstrate bias by education and literacy, but not urbanicity. Items relating to animal (word) fluency show DIF. The model rates correct identification of the prime minister as the most difficult binary response item whereas the day of the week and numeracy items are rated comparatively easier. ConclusionsOur study would facilitate comparison across education, literacy and urbancity to support analyses of differences in cognitive status. This would help future instrument development efforts by recognizing potentially problematic items in certain subgroups.