Background: Decreasing fertility rates and increasing lifespan affect the time grandparents and grandchildren co-exist. Any changes in the time and length of grandparenthood could alter the quality and the direction of intergenerational exchange. In Italy, a country in which grandparents constitute a fundamental resource for the provision of childcare and where families are the main source of support for individuals, studying grandparents' health evolution is crucial, especially considering the limited evidence available. Objective: This study aims to uncover the evolution of disability-free grandparenthood at age 65 between 1998 and 2016 in Italy, analysing changes due to the longevity revolution and to grandparenthood–disability prevalence, with a focus on gender differences. Methods: Disability-free grandparenthood is estimated for Italy for the years 1998 to 2016 and by gender using the Sullivan method. The linear integral decomposition method is implemented to assess the contribution of changes in mortality and the grandparenthood–disability prevalence on the evolution of disability-free grandparenthood over time. Results: Between 1998 and 2016, Italian grandparents gained disability-free years of life overlapping with their grandchildren. Grandmothers gained 2.6 years (from 9.9 to 12.5 years), and grandfathers 1.8 years (from 8.9 to 10.7 years). Overall, this trend was primarily driven by improvements in health and survival. However, the postponement in the transition to grandparenthood for men slightly slowed down the trend. Contribution: This study introduces grandparenthood into the estimation of generation overlap and provides the first evidence of a disability-free grandparenthood trend in Italy, where the health of grandparents is crucial to understanding intergenerational relationships and family dynamics.

中文翻译：

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使用性别分解揭示 1998 年至 2016 年间意大利的无残疾祖父母身份（作者：Margherita Moretti、Elisa Cisotto、Alessandra De Rose）


背景：生育率的下降和寿命的延长影响着祖父母和孙子女共存的时间。祖父母的时间和长度的任何变化都可能改变代际交流的质量和方向。在意大利，祖父母是提供儿童保育的基本资源，家庭是个人支持的主要来源，研究祖父母的健康演变至关重要，特别是考虑到现有证据有限。目的：本研究旨在揭示 1998 年至 2016 年间意大利 65 岁无残疾祖父母身份的演变，分析长寿革命和祖父母身份-残疾流行率带来的变化，重点关注性别差异。方法：使用沙利文方法按性别对意大利 1998 年至 2016 年的无残疾祖父母人数进行估计。采用线性积分分解方法来评估死亡率和祖父母残疾患病率的变化对无残疾祖父母身份随时间演变的贡献。结果：1998 年至 2016 年间，意大利祖父母获得了与孙辈重叠的无残疾寿命。祖母增加了 2.6 岁（从 9.9 岁增加到 12.5 岁），祖父增加了 1.8 岁（从 8.9 岁增加到 10.7 岁）。总体而言，这一趋势主要是由健康和生存的改善推动的。然而，男性向祖父母过渡的推迟略微减缓了这一趋势。 贡献：这项研究将祖父母身份引入了代际重叠的估计中，并提供了意大利无残疾祖父母身份趋势的第一个证据，其中祖父母的健康对于理解代际关系和家庭动态至关重要。