The influence of poverty in older age on mental well-being: a cohort study

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

DRKS

Registry ID

DRKS00037538

Enrollment

2000

Registered

2025-07-31

Start date

2025-07-14

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-03-02

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Mental well-being

Interventions

Group 1: The study observes individuals who may be affected by old-age poverty. Old-age poverty is operationalized based on monthly net household income and age of at least 65 years (in line with the

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

65 Years to No maximum

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Included in the analysis are individuals who participated in both waves of the SOEP. Eligibility for inclusion required that individuals were at least 65 years old at the time of the first survey.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Individuals with missing data on the dependent variable (mental well-being) or the independent variable (risk of poverty in old age yes/no) at one or both time points are excluded from the analysis.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Mental well-being; How? Continuously, 0 to 100 points, Mental Component Summary Score (MCS); a weighted factor score derived from items comparable to those of the SF-12 Health Survey Version 2 (Morfeld et al., 2011); When? 2018 (T1) and 2022 (T2), as well as in a second cohort in 2014 (T1) and 2018 (T2).	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Vitality; How? Continuously, 0 to 100 points, subscale of the Mental Component Summary (component of the MCS); When? 2018 (T1) and 2022 (T2), as well as in a second cohort in 2014 (T1) and 2018 (T2). Social functioning; How? Continuously, 0 to 100 points, subscale of the Mental Component Summary (component of the MCS); When? 2018 (T1) and 2022 (T2), as well as in a second cohort in 2014 (T1) and 2018 (T2). Emotional role; How? Continuously, 0 to 100 points, subscale of the Mental Component Summary (component of the MCS); When? 2018 (T1) and 2022 (T2), as well as in a second cohort in 2014 (T1) and 2018 (T2). Mental health index; How? Continuously, 0 to 100 points, subscale of the Mental Component Summary (component of the MCS); When? 2018 (T1) and 2022 (T2), as well as in a second cohort in 2014 (T1) and 2018 (T2).	—

Measure

Time frame

Vitality; How? Continuously, 0 to 100 points, subscale of the Mental Component Summary (component of the MCS); When? 2018 (T1) and 2022 (T2), as well as in a second cohort in 2014 (T1) and 2018 (T2). Social functioning; How? Continuously, 0 to 100 points, subscale of the Mental Component Summary (component of the MCS); When? 2018 (T1) and 2022 (T2), as well as in a second cohort in 2014 (T1) and 2018 (T2). Emotional role; How? Continuously, 0 to 100 points, subscale of the Mental Component Summary (component of the MCS); When? 2018 (T1) and 2022 (T2), as well as in a second cohort in 2014 (T1) and 2018 (T2). Mental health index; How? Continuously, 0 to 100 points, subscale of the Mental Component Summary (component of the MCS); When? 2018 (T1) and 2022 (T2), as well as in a second cohort in 2014 (T1) and 2018 (T2).

—

Countries

Germany

Contacts

Public ContactMatthias Bethge

Universität zu Lübeck

matthias.bethge@uksh.de+49 451 50051280

Outcome results

None listed

Source: DRKS (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Mar 14, 2026