Background: The aim of current study was to assess the association between household solid fuel use and successful aging among Chinese ≥ 60 years of age.
Methods: A total of 4,047 participants (2,347 men and 1,700 women with the average age of 67.05 ± 6.05 years) from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study 2011 were included in cross-sectional analyses. 2,517 participants at baseline were included in longitudinal analyses and were followed up in 2018. Successful aging was defined according to five components (without major diseases; without disability; high cognitive functioning; without depressive symptoms; active engagement with life).
Results: In cross-sectional analyses, the participants who used solid fuel (coal or crop residue/wood) for cooking and heating had lower prevalence of successful aging than those who used clean fuel (solar energy, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas or electricity). During the follow-up, 175(6.95%) participants experienced successful aging. In the longitudinal analysis, after multivariable adjustment of age, sex and other risk factors, individuals who used solid fuel for cooking showed a lower ratio of successful aging, with corresponding odds ratio of 0.66 (95% confidence interval, 0.42-0.93). Consistently, individuals reported solid fuels use for heating were associated with lower odds ratios of successful aging (odds ratio = 0.59, 95% confidence interval:0.39-0.90). In addition, a self-reported switch from clean to solid fuel or from solid fuel to clean were also significantly associated with successful aging.
Conclusion: Compared to clean fuel, using household solid fuel showed a negatively associated with successful aging among the elderly in China.
Keywords: CHARLS; Cooking; Heating; Solid fuel; Successful aging.
© 2025. The Author(s).