Assessment of Disability among the Elderly in Xiamen of China: A Representative Sample Survey of 14,292 Older Adults

Abstract

BackgroundThe unprecedented number of elderly individuals in China presents a serious public health challenge. Limited data are available on the prevalence of disability or factors resulting in disability among the elderly in China.ObjectiveWe aimed to assess the prevalence of disability and related risk factors among the elderly of Xiamen, China.MethodsA cross-sectional study was performed on individuals who were ≥60 years of age. The subjects were recruited by multi-stage sampling; a total of 14,292 valid questionnaires were received. Study measurements included activities of daily living (ADL), demographics, and health status. The ADL was assessed by the Katz Index Scale to evaluate disability. Chi-square tests and binary logistic regression were used to identify factors associated with disabilities.ResultsAmong the valid participants, 4.27% had at least one disability. Bathing was the most frequently reported disability and feeding was the least frequently reported disability. Disabilities were significantly associated with female gender, older age, unmarried status, living with family, urban residence, illiteracy, poor economic status, self-rated bad health, chronic illnesses, lower life satisfaction, bad mood, and feelings of loneliness.ConclusionFunctional disability among the elderly requires more public attention. Culturally appropriate policies and programs are also needed to address the care for the disabled elderly.

Association between rural-to-urban migration and the cognitive aging trajectories of older Chinese adults: results from a prospective cohort analysis

“…From our data, older adults living with children at baseline reported lower cognitive function (mental status) at both baseline and follow up. Findings that living with children was associated with physical disabilities were reported in other studies [41][42][43]. This pattern may be attributed to the fact that older adults with physical or cognitive impairment tend to live with their children for support.…”

Prevalência e fatores associados a dependência funcional em idosos longevos

“…Nesse Contexto, uma revisão sistemática com metanálise que avaliou a capacidade funcional de idosos brasileiros, encontrou entre os estudos somente 8,7% objetivando os idosos longevos e todos os estudos eram baseados em informações autorreferidas para a capacidade funcional 17 . Ao analisar os dados sociodemográficos, ressalta-se a feminilização da população estudada, em concordância com a literatura [18][19] , que pode ser explicada pelas diferentes características de mortalidade entre os sexos 20 . Ainda, a maioria mora acompanhada (o), são viúvas(os), sabem ler/escrever e tem renda de um a dois salários mínimos.…”

Assessment of health, functioning and disability of a population aged 60–70 in south-eastern Poland using the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS 2.0)

“…Converging results were obtained by Chen et al who showed that disability was associated with old age, single marital status, a sense of isolation and bad mood [44]. Holwerda et al in a prospective cohort study showed that the feeling of loneliness and social isolation were the main risk factors for increased mortality among older men [45].…”