COVID-19 presents unprecedented challenges to the global public health response. Preventive behaviors and keeping social distance are regarded as compelling ways to prevent COVID-19. This study focused on the sociological and psychological factors associated with proper and excessive preventive behaviors of the COVID-19 outbreak in China. For the sample, we collected the data of 4788 participants who were surveyed between 4 April and 15 April 2020 from eight provinces in China. This study designed a self-filled questionnaire that included demographic information, six components of the Health Belief Model, and target preventive behaviors. Descriptive analysis, Chi-square test, logistic regression analysis, Mantel–Haenszel hierarchical analysis, and propensity score matching were employed in this study. The results showed that 54.7% of the participants had adequate basic prevention, 63.6% of the participants had adequate advanced prevention, and 5.8% of the participants practiced excessive prevention. The elder participants were less likely to engage in proper preventive behaviors. Perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, and knowledge levels were associated with preventive behaviors. Excessive preventive behaviors in high-risk groups with suspected symptoms were associated with their extreme psychological condition, while the support from the community and family plays an important role in avoiding these behaviors.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an international public health threat, and people's participation in disease-related preventive behaviours is the key to controlling infectious diseases. This study aimed to assess the differences in adopting preventive behaviours among populations to explore potential individual and household factors and inequalities within families. Methods: This online survey was conducted in April 2020. The directional stratified convenient sampling method was used to select 4704 participants from eight provinces in eastern, central, and western China. The questionnaire included demographic information, household variables, and five target prevention behaviours. The chi-squared test, binary multilevel model, and Mantel–Haenszel hierarchical analysis were used for data analysis in the study. Results: Approximately 71.2% of the participants had appropriate outdoor prevention, and 32.9% of the participants had indoor protection in place. Sharing behaviours (P < 0.001) and education level (P < 0.001) were positively associated with adopting preventive measures. The inhibiting effect of household crowding and stimulating effect of high household income on preventive behaviours were determined in this study. Household size was negatively associated with living area (β = -0.057, P < 0.05) and living style (β = -0.077, P < 0.05). Household income was positively associated with age (β = 0.023, P < 0.05), and relationship with friends (β = 0.053, P < 0.05). Vulnerable groups, such as older adults or women, are more likely to have inadequate preventive behaviours. Older adults (OR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.09–2.15), women (OR = 1.37, 95% CI 1.15–1.64), and those with more than 2 suspected symptoms (OR = 1.85, 95% CI 1.07–3.19) were more likely to be affected by the inhibiting effect of household crowding, while the stimulating effect of high household income was limited in these groups. Conclusions: Inequalities in COVID-19 prevention behaviours exist between families and inadequate adoption of prevention by vulnerable groups are noteworthy. This study expands the research perspective by emphasizing the role of household factors in preventive behaviours and by focusing on family inequalities. The government should use traditional media as a platform to enhance residents’ public health knowledge. Targeted additional wage subsidies, investments in affordable housing, financial support for multigenerational households, and temporary relocation policies may deserve more attention. Communities could play a critical role in COVID-19 prevention. Graphical

Increasing health inequalities among older adults globally illustrate the urgent need for effective interventions. Socio-economic position (SEP), which reflects an individual's social and economic standing, may affect healthy ageing through various life course mechanisms. However, longitudinal associations between life course SEP and healthy ageing as a multidimensional construct remain unclear. We conducted a comprehensive systematic review of longitudinal studies investigating the associations between life course SEP indicators (including education, income, occupation, wealth) and multidimensional healthy ageing outcomes. A systematic literature search was conducted across four databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and Web of Science) from inception to April 2025. Due to the heterogeneity in the operationalisation of SEP and healthy ageing, a narrative synthesis was performed (Prospero CRD42023418728). 47 articles were included in the review. Across multiple SEP indicators and life stages, higher educational levels (39/43 studies) and higher income/wealth (31/36 studies) were positively associated with better healthy ageing outcomes. Occupation showed inconsistent evidence. Life-course evidence showed childhood SEP disadvantage predicted poorer later-life outcomes (13/17 studies), with cumulative multi-stage disadvantage showing additive effects (5 studies) and upward mobility conferring benefits (3 studies). These patterns manifested in three age-related inequality trajectories: widening (18/23 studies), convergence, and persistence, with education-cognitive disparities showing strongest widening effects. Cross-national evidence revealed regional specificities. Studies also identified sex/gender moderation effects (5 studies) and examined mediating pathways (6 studies). Higher education showed the most consistent protective effects, while income/wealth effects were complex. Health inequalities widened with age, highlighting lasting childhood impacts. Targeted interventions addressing early educational investment and life stage-specific strategies are needed for reducing healthy ageing inequalities.

Background: Increasing health inequalities among older adults globally illustrate the urgent need for effective interventions. Socio-economic position (SEP) may affect healthy ageing through various life course mechanisms. However, longitudinal associations between life course SEP and healthy ageing as a multidimensional construct remain unclear. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive systematic review of longitudinal studies investigating the associations between life course SEP indicators and multidimensional healthy ageing outcomes. A systematic literature search was conducted across four databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and Web of Science) from inception to April 2025. Due to the heterogeneity in the operationalisation of SEP and healthy ageing, a narrative synthesis was performed (Prospero CRD42023418728). Results: 47 articles were included in the review. Across multiple SEP indicators and life stages, higher educational levels (39/43 studies) and higher income/wealth (31/36 studies) were positively associated with better healthy ageing. Occupation showed inconsistent evidence. Life-course evidence showed childhood SEP disadvantage predicted poorer later-life outcomes (13/17 studies), with cumulative multi-stage disadvantage showing additive effects (5 studies) and upward mobility conferring benefits (3 studies). These patterns manifested in three age-related inequality trajectories: widening (18/23 studies), convergence, and persistence, with education-cognitive disparities showing strongest widening effects. Cross-national evidence revealed regional specificities. Studies also identified gender moderation effects (5 studies) and examined mediating pathways (6 studies). Conclusion: Education showed the most consistent protective effects, while income/wealth effects were complex. Health inequalities widened with age, highlighting lasting childhood impacts. Targeted interventions addressing early educational investment and life stage-specific strategies are needed for reducing healthy ageing inequalities.

Intrinsic capacity (IC) summarizes functional health across multiple domains in healthy aging research, yet evidence on whether IC can be measured and tracked before older age remains limited. Using data from the 1958 British birth cohort at ages 50 and 62 (N = 7,804), we examined whether IC could be measured as a coherent, valid and longitudinally comparable construct from midlife to early old age. A second-order model applied to 30 indicators across sensory, cognitive, physical, psychological and vitality domains supported a five-domain IC construct, with scalar invariance across sweeps enabling comparison of scores over time. IC scores showed graded associations with self-rated health and chronic disease burden in the expected directions. Mean IC declined by 6.3 points on a 0-100 scale from age 50 to 62. These findings establish a basis for studying IC trajectories from midlife, before functional decline is usually clinically apparent.