Recent trends in chronic disease, impairment and disability among older adults in the United States

BMC Geriatrics

Research Article

William W Hung¹  Albert L Siu¹  Kenneth S Boockvar¹  Joseph S Ross² 

[1] Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA;The Health Services Research and Development Research Enhancement Award Program and the Geriatrics Research, Education, and Clinical Center, James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA;Division of General Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine and Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT, USA;

关键词: chronic disease;    impairment;    disability;    prevalence trends;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2318-11-47

 received in 2011-02-10, accepted in 2011-08-18,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundTo examine concurrent prevalence trends of chronic disease, impairment and disability among older adults.MethodsWe analyzed the 1998, 2004 and 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative survey of older adults in the United States, and included 31,568 community dwelling adults aged 65 and over. Measurements include: prevalence of chronic diseases including hypertension, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, chronic lung disease and arthritis; prevalence of impairments, including impairments of cognition, vision, hearing, mobility, and urinary incontinence; prevalence of disability, including activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs).ResultsThe proportion of older adults reporting no chronic disease decreased from 13.1% (95% Confidence Interval [CI], 12.4%-13.8%) in 1998 to 7.8% (95% CI, 7.2%-8.4%) in 2008, whereas the proportion reporting 1 or more chronic diseases increased from 86.9% (95% CI, 86.2%-89.6%) in 1998 to 92.2% (95% CI, 91.6%-92.8%) in 2008. In addition, the proportion reporting 4 or more diseases increased from 11.7% (95% CI, 11.0%-12.4%) in 1998 to 17.4% (95% CI, 16.6%-18.2%) in 2008. The proportion of older adults reporting no impairments was 47.3% (95% CI, 46.3%-48.4%) in 1998 and 44.4% (95% CI, 43.3%-45.5%) in 2008, whereas the proportion of respondents reporting 3 or more was 7.2% (95% CI, 6.7%-7.7%) in 1998 and 7.3% (95% CI, 6.8%-7.9%) in 2008. The proportion of older adults reporting any ADL or IADL disability was 26.3% (95% CI, 25.4%-27.2%) in 1998 and 25.4% (95% CI, 24.5%-26.3%) in 2008.ConclusionsMultiple chronic disease is increasingly prevalent among older U.S. adults, whereas the prevalence of impairment and disability, while substantial, remain stable.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Hung et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011