Changes in the Prevalence of Disability among Older Adults in India: Longitudinal Influence of Socio-economic and Health-related Factors

Abstract

\n Background: While experiencing a double burden of both communicable and non-communicable diseases, three-fourth of the Indian population aged 50 and above are suffering from some form of disability. Existing studies on physical limitations highlight the determinants of late-life disabilities, however, limited evidence has shown how the socio-economic and health-related factors influence the elderly recovering or acquiring disability status in the Indian context. Method: The current study uses two waves of the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) and is based on panel data of 10527 older adults. Both bivariate and multiple variable regression analysis were performed using two binary outcome variables in this study – whether older adults acquired disability and recovered from disability between round-I and round-II, respectively.Results: Nearly 31.5% and 4.4% of older adults have acquired and recovered disability across the two rounds respectively. 38.5% and 45.8% of female older adults’ disability status changes to disable and recovered in round 2 respectively. A lesser proportion of older adults have recovered from a disability who have a chronic disease in round 1. Cataract chronic conditions among older adults in round 1 had shown 1.45 times (CI: 1.07-1.97) a significantly higher likelihood of acquiring disability in round 2. Older adults who were unmarried and were not working in round 1 have 1.12 times (CI: 1.01-1.25) and 1.21 times (CI: 1.06-1.39) a higher likelihood of acquiring disability in round 2 respectively. Recovering from disability was mostly seen among older adults who belong to the richest (OR: 2.38, CI: 1.31-4.33) and medium (OR: 2.16, CI: 1.27-3.69) wealth quintile households. Older adults residing in the central region of India have 2.72 times (CI: 2.31-3.19) significantly higher chance of acquiring disability than those who were residing in northern regions.Conclusion: Appropriate measures are required to highlight the importance of chronic physical diseases and several socio-demographic factors that may negatively affect the trajectory of disability in older ages.