Abstract
Objective: We explored the effect of morbidity, mortality, and occurrence of new disability
on gender differences in activities of daily living (ADL) functioning in different
age groups in the elderly population.
Methods: All 77+-year-old members of a community-based cohort were clinically examined by
physicians, assessed by psychologists, and interviewed by nurses at baseline and after
a 3-year interval. Diseases were diagnosed according to ICD-9 and the DSM-III-R criteria
for dementia. The Katz index of ADL was used to measure basic functional status.
Results: After adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics, the oldest women (90+ years)
had higher disability prevalence and a tendency for higher long-term disability incidence.
Women aged 85+ years also had higher morbidity prevalence. Mortality among disabled
subjects was similar for both genders, whereas higher mortality was found in younger
nondisabled men (77–84 years).
Conclusion: We conclude that gender differences in disability, morbidity, and mortality vary
with age in the elderly population. Gender differences in morbidity and basic functional
dependence were evident only in the oldest old. Based on current and previous findings,
we speculate that more women may be at higher risk of developing severe disability
than men in the advanced ages due to longer survival with slight disability earlier
in adult life.
Keywords
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