Subjective Expectations on Having Implanted Medical Devices at Older Ages: Results of a Cross-Sectional Population Survey

OBJECTIVES: With the ageing of society and advances in medical technologies, implantable medical devices (IMDs) are becoming more common. Subjective expectations on being treated with innovative IMDs in the future may have significant impact on current lifestyle decisions and participation in healthcare. We aimed to explore the population's subjective expectations on having IMDs at older ages.

METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey was performed in a sample (N=1400) aged 40 years and over, representative for the general population of Hungary. Participants' current IMDs were recorded and all respondents were asked to indicate the IMDs they expect to have in the future at ages 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90. Subjective life expectancy (sLE) was also reported.

RESULTS: There were 378 (27.0%), 739 (52.8%), 1148 (82.0%), 1369 (97.8%) and 1400 (100%) participants aged <50, <60, <70, <80 and <90 years, respectively. In the 41-50/51-60/61-70/71-80/81-90 age groups, 78.5%/76.2%/64.3%/50.3%/36.4% respectively had no IMD. In contrast, the share of individuals expecting not to have any IMD at ages 50/60/70/80/90 were 53.4%/50.1%/41.3%/36.7%/39.8%. The most frequently expected IMD was tooth implant for all the five ages (33%/29.1%/29.0%/30.8%/29.5%). For ages 50 and 60, the second most frequently expected IMD was knee implant (9.1% and 12.0%, respectively), but for ages 70, 80 and 90 it was the intraocular lens (16.5%, 24.2% and 25.4%, respectively). The average sLE was 83.0 (SD=12.7) years. Comparison of subgroups by sLE (i.e., those who expect or not to live to the age in question) showed no significant difference in subjective expectations on IMDs.

CONCLUSIONS: Individuals expect an increase in having IMD with the increase of age which is in line with actual data. However, a tendency to overestimate the prevalence of IMDs at ages 50, 60, 70 and 80 can be observed. Our results help design health programmes that put patients’ subjective expectations on a realistic basis.