Associations of body mass index, waist circumference and the weight-adjusted waist index with daily living ability impairment in older Chinese people: A cross-sectional study of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey.

AIM: To investigate the associations of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and the weight-adjusted waist index (WWI) with the impairment of activities of daily living (ADL) in older Chinese people. METHODS: A total of 13 260 participants aged 65 years and older from the 2018 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey were included in this cross-sectional study. BMI, WC and the WWI were calculated from measurements of height, weight and WC. Binary logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Non-linear correlations were investigated using restricted cubic spline curves. RESULTS: In multivariate logistic regression fully adjusted for confounding variables, our analyses revealed significant associations between WC and WWI and ADL impairment, with adjusted ORs (95% CI) of 1.01 (1.00, 1.01) and 1.08 (1.03, 1.12), respectively. Meanwhile, participants with a high WWI had a higher risk of ADL impairment compared with those with a low WWI, with an adjusted OR (95% CI) of 1.12 (1.02, 1.23). Subgroup analyses showed that only the association between WWI and ADL impairment did not differ in any of the different populations. In addition, we found that BMI, WC and WWI were non-linearly associated with ADL impairment. CONCLUSIONS: There are significant associations between WC and WWI and ADL impairment in older Chinese people. The findings show the ability of the WWI to serve as a comprehensive and effective indicator of obesity in older Chinese people and emphasize the importance of assessing WWI in screening and preventing ADL impairment in older people.

A regionalism shift? Chinese undergraduate students' choice of study in Asia Under COVID-19.

This paper draws attention to the current and possible effects of COVID-19 on the mobility trajectories of mainland Chinese students studying in Asia. By drawing on 35 biographical interviews, this paper focuses on their decision to study in Asian countries and regions. Particularly, it calls for more attention to Asia in global student mobilities and discusses whether COVID-19 has changed the position of Asia in the global landscape of student mobility. Results show that even if COVID-19 provides an opportunity for Asian universities to embrace more international students, Asia still lacks the capability to attract great numbers of them. Finally, the study argues that college students' choice of mobility destinations is shaped by their perception of the central-periphery structure of higher education, which is hard to be shaken by the pandemic.

Reconceptualising international academic mobility in the global knowledge system: towards a new research agenda.

The cross-border movement of people in higher education has been attracting scholarly attention for decades, but the definition of 'international academic mobility' bears ambiguities. This article reviews the literature on international academic mobility published in the journal Higher Education and beyond. By bridging the literature on international academic mobility from higher education studies and other disciplines, this article proposes to redefine international academic mobility, which highlights the integration of both international student mobility and international faculty mobility. Furthermore, this article outlines a new conceptual framework and research agenda, on the role of international academic mobility in the national, regional, and global knowledge systems. The framework highlights the relationship between international academic mobility and worldwide knowledge acquisition, production, transfer, circulation, networks, and the geopolitics of science. The article also proposes further methodologies for future research on international academic mobility.