Functional disability among older adults in India; a gender perspective

Abstract

Introduction Older adults are always at a greater risk of physical and functional health challenges. These complications result into morbidity, disability and death making them more vulnerable at later ages. Therefore, this paper will examine the functional health status among older adults and its gender perspective, along with associated risk factors. Materials and methods Using the first round of Longitudinal ageing survey of India (2017–18). Functional disability was computed based on general and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL and IADL) (n = 20910). Functional disability was coined with individual having at least one of the limitations of these activities. Applying bivariate and multivariate analysis the present paper studied the association, gender perspective and risk factors of functional disability among older adults aged 50 and above in India. Results Our results clearly showed the gender bias in functional disability, with greater proportion of women (52%) at risk for functional disability then men (35%). Factors like multimorbidity, depression and life satisfaction are key risk factors identified by this study that increase the likelihood of disability. Conclusion Functional disability is key to healthy ageing and needs immediate attention given its greater concentration among the elderly, particularly women. The results reflect the substantial burden of functional disability than self-care among older adults in India and therefore indicates some significant policy interventions to reduce the likely impact of functional disability.

Assessment of Dependency in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and its Predictors: A Cross-Sectional Study among the Elderly Rural Population in a Sub-Himalayan UT of India

“…Similar to our findings, multiple authors have reported that the presence of chronic illness increases the probability of activity limitation, thus increasing the dependency. [ 25 26 ] Given the enormous influence of morbidity on functional disability, an urgent need arises t reduce the likelihood of chronic diseases by improving the access to health-care services and financing among the elderly in India. [ 27 ]…”

Gender differences in the association between cardiovascular diseases and major depressive disorder among older adults in India

“…Further research and interventions focused on CVD should consider employing functional health screenings to potentially disrupt or mitigate functional decline that could render some older adults, especially men, more susceptible to mental distress. This is especially important given the otherwise well-documented finding that a greater proportion of women than men face functional disability in later life [ 71 ].…”

Determinants of Functional Difficulty among Women in Nepal: A Cross-sectional Study

“…The variation in findings could be attributed to the specific socioeconomic and environmental contexts of the study populations. Factors such as access to healthcare services, living conditions, and socioeconomic disparities may contribute to the disparities in functional difficulty observed in different populations (Bora & Saikia, 2015;Ćwirlej-Sozańska et al, 2019;Dunlop et al, 2002;Malik, 2022).…”

“…These findings suggest that advancing age may contribute to an increased likelihood of experiencing functional difficulties. Factors such as declining physical health, age-related chronic conditions and reduced mobility and flexibility could potentially explain the higher prevalence of functional difficulty in older women (Dunlop et al, 2002;Malik, 2022).…”