The central focus of this project is to evaluate the implications of cardiovascular risk factors for measures of health and well-being in a less developed country. As the epidemiologic transition progresses and the ages at death rise, it is important to understand the health problems that people with cardiovascular risk factors confront and the impact of these problems on social and economic prosperity. Development and globalization may hasten the epidemiologic transition because these processes are accompanied by changes in risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as modification of diet and exercise patterns, changes in smoking prevalence and intensity, and shifts in access to health facilities and treatment. Poor physical and cardiovascular health among older adults in less developed countries have particularly serious economic consequences because labor opportunities tend to be physically demanding relative to those in developed countries. The primary data sources for this work will be the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) and the Worker Iron Supplement Evaluation (WISE). We will focus on three primary research questions. 1.What are the levels and prevalence of established risk factors for cardiovascular disease and socioeconomic covariates of health in the community of study? 2. How do physically assessed and self-reported health characteristics differ among individuals with different cardiovascular risk factors profiles? 3. How do individuals with different levels of cardiovascular risk respond to biological and economic stimuli? Specifically, we will focus on trends in several chronic disease risk factors including tobacco use, high BMI, and high blood pressure, as well as more general health indicators such as disability, physical fitness, and mortality. Changes over time in health behaviors such as tobacco use, diet, and physical activity are likely to be different in a developed country than historically observed in developed countries. Using IFLS and WISE data, we will gain understanding of the magnitude of chronic disease burdens disease in the older population of a developing country and, more generally, the impact of health on economic development. The panel nature of the data will allow us to explore trajectories in non-communicable disease and risk factors in a way rarely possible in a developing country.
