Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe


Institute:	Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA), Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy
Address:	Amalienstrasse 33 80799 Munich Germany
Website:	www.share-project.org

The Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) is an interdisciplinary and cross-country survey that collects data at regular intervals to the lives of people over 50 and examines how people in Europe and Israel aging . In seven survey waves to date, around 140,000 people have been questioned in 380,000 interviews. The survey covers various areas such as social and family networks, health and socio-economic status . With this, the project responds to a call from the European Commission "to set up a European study on the aging process in cooperation with other member states". In the meantime, SHARE has become one of the main pillars of the European Research Area and was chosen in 2006 to be integrated into the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI). In addition, the project was named the first European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) by the EU Commission in 2011.

About SHARE

The international survey project, founded in 2002, is coordinated centrally at the Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA), a department of the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy (MPISOC) , by Prof. Axel Börsch-Supan (project manager). Worldwide, over 150 researchers from various disciplines from international working groups and national teams contribute to the development of SHARE. A scientific board of directors , made up of eminent international researchers and a network of advisors, helps maintain and improve the high scientific standards of the project.

SHARE is tailored to its role models and sister studies, the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA) , and has the advantage of covering variations in public policy , culture and history in a large number of European countries include. Its scientific strength is based on the facility as a longitudinal study that records the dynamic character of the aging process. The multidisciplinary approach of the study also provides a comprehensive, cross-research picture of the aging process. Strict procedural guidelines and programs guarantee a cross-border harmonized execution in advance. The collected data include health variables (e.g. health status , physical and cognitive functioning, health behavior, use of care), biomarkers (e.g. grip strength , body mass index ), psychological factors (e.g. mental health, well-being , Life satisfaction ), economic variables (e.g. current work activity, job characteristics, wealth and consumption , accommodation, education ) and social variables (e.g. help within families, social networks, voluntary activities ). All data is collected with the help of computer-aided, personal interviews , which are supplemented by measurements and a paper questionnaire to be filled out. The SHARE data are accessible free of charge to the entire international research community after successful registration.

The surveys are funded by grants from the European Commission (through the Research Framework Programs 5, 6 and 7 as well as Horizon 2020), the US National Institute on Aging and various national sources, in particular the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research .

General facts and results

Economic situation, income and assets

The data collected by SHARE allow a detailed insight into the financial situation of households in the older European population. The study shows, for example, that people's incomes are not sufficient in all European countries - in some countries, poverty in old age is therefore a serious problem. In the Eastern European countries Poland and the Czech Republic , in the Southern European countries Greece , Italy and Spain and in Israel , income is considered to be the least adequate. In these countries, more than 50 percent of households report difficulties in getting along with their income. In contrast, particularly in Sweden , Denmark , the Netherlands and Switzerland, income is considered sufficient; less than 20 percent of households there have problems making ends meet with their income. Employment and retirement patterns also differ significantly between European countries. The proportion of people who work a lot for very low pay is particularly high in Poland and Greece . Accordingly, the proportion of early retirees there is above average. In contrast to these countries, the quality of work in terms of the performance-wage balance is high in the Nordic countries , the Netherlands and Switzerland . They also have the lowest percentage of older workers seeking early retirement.

family

Interfamily support is strongly related to geographical accessibility and social contact. On the one hand, the SHARE data confirm the existence of persistent regional structures of “weak” and “strong” family ties, but on the other hand they also reveal many similarities across Europe . In all countries - and in all age groups - 85 percent of all parents have at least one child who lives no more than 25 km away from them. In addition, the proportion of parents who have contact with one of their children less than once a week is equally low in Sweden and Spain (7%). The results therefore do not provide any indication of a decline in cohesion in parent-child relationships.

health

The SHARE data show a strong link between education and health in the elderly. This is true not only on an individual level (better educated people are healthier than less educated), but also across borders in Europe. Comparisons of average education and average health levels in SHARE countries show that the Eastern European and southern countries in particular are characterized by a low level of education and a lower level of health at the same time. In contrast, the populations of Northern Europe and Switzerland are both healthier and better educated than the European average.

Research with SHARE data

Around 10,000 researchers worldwide (as of 07/2019) use SHARE data for their scientific research . Publications based on SHARE data are documented and published online.

Different waves of data collection

So far, six waves of surveys have been implemented that collect information about the 50+ generation. Data for waves 1 through 5 are already available for research .

Wave 1 (2004)

The first data collection took place in 2004 as a representative survey of people who are 50 years of age or older in 11 European countries. It covered the economic, social and cultural spectrum of Europe from Scandinavia ( Denmark and Sweden ) through Central Europe ( Belgium , Germany , France , Netherlands , Austria and Switzerland ) to the Mediterranean area ( Greece , Italy and Spain ). Israel joined in late 2004 and was the first country in the Middle East to introduce a systematic study of its aging population. The main questionnaire consisted of 20 modules, including health, socio-economic status and social networks .

Wave 2 (2006-07)

The second wave of surveys was carried out from autumn 2006 to spring 2007. Since 2006, two “new” EU member states - the Czech Republic and Poland - as well as Ireland have been represented in the project. In addition to the main questionnaire, an “end of life” interview was conducted with relatives of deceased SHARE respondents. SHARE Israel carried out the second wave of surveys in 2009-2010.

Wave 3 (SHARELIFE, 2008-09)

Map of all 28 countries participating in the SHARE study

SHARELIFE is the third wave of surveys in which detailed life stories were retrospectively recorded from autumn 2008 to summer 2009 . SHARELIFE connects individual developments over the entire life of the respondents ( micro level ) with the institutional development of the welfare states . The effects of various interventions by a welfare state on the lives of individuals can be examined. Information on the impact of changes in institutional frameworks on individual decisions is of particular interest when assessing measures and policy decisions across Europe . The SHARELIFE questionnaire covers all important areas of the life of the respondents of partners and children, the living situation and professional career to detailed questions about health and medical care from the respondents' childhood to the present. With this versatility, SHARELIFE forms a large interdisciplinary database for research , u. a. in the fields of sociology , economics , aging research , psychology and population science . The data from the SHARELIFE survey can be linked to the first two SHARE waves, which assess the current living conditions of older Europeans. SHARELIFE was repeated in wave 7.

Wave 4 (2010-11)

The fourth wave of data collection began in autumn 2010 and for the first time also included Estonia , Hungary , Portugal and Slovenia . In the other European countries, the national questionnaires have been expanded and a new module on social networks has been added to the main questionnaire . The fourth wave data has been available since November 2012.

Wave 5 (2013)

The data collection of wave 5 took place in 2013. A total of 15 countries took part in this survey wave, including Luxembourg for the first time . The data have been available for research purposes since March 2015. In wave 5, questions about childhood , material deprivation , social exclusion and migration were added, as well as computer skills and the use of computers in the workplace .

Wave 6 (2015)

The sixth survey wave was carried out in 17 countries in 2015. One of the most important innovations was the collection of objective health measures by means of " Dried Blood Spot Sampling " (DBSS): A drop of blood was taken from the participants (in 12 countries) in order to determine blood values associated with diseases that are more common in older people occur. These include cardiovascular diseases and diseases that can be triggered by external living conditions and environmental influences , such as diabetes mellitus (type 2) . It is hoped that the additional biomarkers will provide an instrument to compare the objective state of health with the subjective self-perception . They should also help to clarify the connections between health and social status and to show the course of illness. In addition, longitudinal changes in the social networks are recorded in wave 6 . The data has been available for research since March 2017.

Wave 7 (SHARELIFE, 2017)

With wave 7, which was carried out in 2017, eight new countries joined the SHARE study ( Bulgaria , Finland , Latvia , Lithuania , Malta , Romania , Slovakia , Cyprus ). The SHARE study thus covers 28 countries (26 EU countries , Switzerland and Israel ). Wave 7 is divided into two research areas: All respondents who had already participated in SHARE wave 3 (SHARELIFE) were asked questions about the current situation with regard to family, friends and health as well as social and financial living conditions. For newly added respondents (new SHARE countries, refreshment of the samples) there is again a survey about their life stories (see wave 3 - SHARELIFE) . The data from the seventh wave of the survey has been available for research since April 2019.

Related studies and projects

The SHARE study isn't the only study involved in aging research - there are a number of sister studies around the world that also look at topics such as aging , retirement , retirement, and population development . In addition to the role models Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA), follow-up studies have emerged all over the world: The Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging (TILDA), The Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI), The Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement (JSTAR), The Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA), The Chinese Health and Retirement Survey (CHARLS) and The Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS).

literature

Börsch-Supan, A., J. Bristle, K. Andersen-Ranberg, A. Brugiavini, F. Jusot, H. Litwin, G. Weber (Eds.) (2019). Health and Socio-Economic Status over the Life Course. First Results from SHARE Waves 6 and 7 . Berlin: De Gruyter.
Börsch-Supan, A., T. Kneip, H. Litwin, M. Myck and G. Weber (Eds.) (2015). Aging in Europe - supporting policies for an inclusive society . Berlin: De Gruyter.
Börsch-Supan, A., M. Brandt, K. Hank, M. Schröder (2011): The Individual and the Welfare State. Life Histories in Europe, Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging (MEA) , University of Mannheim.
Börsch-Supan, A., K. Hank, H. Juerges, M. Schröder (eds.) (2008): Health, aging and retirement in Europe (2004-2007). Starting the longitudinal dimension , Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging (MEA), University of Mannheim.
Börsch-Supan, A., Brugiavini, A., Jürges, H., Mackenbach, J., Siegrist, J. Weber, G. (eds.) (2005): Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe - First Results from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe , Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging (MEA), University of Mannheim.
Börsch-Supan, A., Hank, K., Jürges, H. (2005): A New Comprehensive and International View on Aging: Introducing the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe , European Journal of Aging (2) 4, 245-253.
Börsch-Supan, A .; Jürges, H. (eds.) (2005): The Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe - Methodology , Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging (MEA), University of Mannheim.
Schröder, M. (2010): SHARELIFE Methodology , Mannheim Research Institute for the Economics of Aging, University of Mannheim.
Malter, F. and A. Börsch-Supan (Eds.) (2017). SHARE Wave 6: Panel innovations and collecting Dried Blood Spots . Munich: Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA).
Bergmann, M., A. Scherpenzeel and A. Börsch-Supan (Eds.) (2019). SHARE Wave 7 Methodology: Panel Innovations and Life Histories . Munich: Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA).
Börsch-Supan, Axel; Brandt, Martina; Hunkler, Christian; Kneip, Thorsten; Korbmacher, Julie; Malter, Frederic; Schaan, Barbara; Stuck, Stephanie; Zuber, Sabrina (2013): Data Resource Profile: The Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) . In: International Journal of Epidemiology, 42 (4), pp. 992-1001

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ List of publications with SHARE. Retrieved April 6, 2019 .
↑ SHARE Wave 7 data is now available! Retrieved April 6, 2019 .

[1] List of publications with SHARE. Retrieved April 6, 2019 .

[2] SHARE Wave 7 data is now available! Retrieved April 6, 2019 .