The prevalence of disabilities amongst American adults aged 65 and older is far lower than it was for a similar age group a decade earlier, in line with a nationally representative study published online within the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH).

The decline in disability amongst older Americans was substantial. The chances of experiencing limitations in activities of every day living (reminiscent of dressing or bathing) and the chances of experiencing functional limitations (reminiscent of serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs) declining 18% and 13%, respectively, between 2008 and 2017.

In 2008, 12.1% of older Americans reported limitations in activities of every day living. In 2017, this percentage had declined to 9.6%. To place this into perspective, if the prevalence of limitations in every day living remained on the 2008 levels, a further 1.27 million older Americans would have ADL limitations in 2017.

Similarly, the proportion of functional limitations amongst those 65 and older declined from 27.3% in 2008 to 23.5% in 2017. Consequently, 1.89 million fewer older adults experienced functional limitations on their quality of life.

“The dramatic improvement within the prevalence of older Americans experiencing disabilities has essential implications for our communities,” says first writer Esme Fuller-Thomson, director of the University of Toronto’s Institute for Life Course & Aging and professor on the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (FIFSW) and the Department of Family & Community Medicine. “This decline within the prevalence of disabilities has a wide selection of advantages for older adults, their families and caregivers, and the health care system at large.”

The improvements in disabilities amongst older adults was greater for ladies than for men. After adjusting for age and race, women’s odds of experiencing limitations in activities of every day living decreased by 20%. vs 13% for men. The chances of girls experiencing functional limitations decreased 16% in comparison with only an 8% decrease amongst men.

“While it’s unclear why these gender differences exist, previous research suggest that girls are more likely than men to have annual check-ups and adopt preventative care practices, and this may occasionally contribute to this gender gap,” says co-author Jason Ferreirinha a recent Master of Social Work graduate from University of Toronto’s FIFSW.

Further analyses showed a relationship between a few of the observed improvements in disabilities across the last decade and the proportion of highschool and university graduates among the many post-World War II birth cohorts.

Higher educational attainment increases health literacy and health promoting behaviors. One’s education levels also impact job type, which affects cardiovascular risk aspects. And the lower one’s cardiovascular risk aspects, the lower one’s levels of disability later in life.”

Katherine Ahlin, co-author, recent graduate from the MSW program, University of Toronto’s FIFSW

Other aspects could also be at play that warrant future research say the researchers. “Other possible contributors to this positive trend could include decreases in smoking, decreasing levels of air pollutants and the phase out of leaded gasoline within the Seventies,” says Fuller-Thomson.

The study is predicated on an evaluation of 10 consecutive cross-sectional waves of the American Community Survey (2008-2017), a nationally representative cross-sectional survey of each community dwelling and institutionalized older adults. Roughly half one million older adults were included in annually of knowledge collection, leading to a final sample size of 5.4 million American respondents aged 65 and older.

Interestingly, the study found a more modest decline in disability amongst those within the Baby Boomer generation in comparison with older cohorts. The authors suggested that higher rates in obesity amongst Baby Boomers in comparison with their older counterparts could also be playing a task in a slower decline.

“Our findings from this study indicate a steep decline within the prevalence of disability amongst older Americans,” said Ferreirinha. “Further investigation might be needed to explore if these positive trends will proceed in coming many years because the Baby Boom population ages into their 80s.”

Source:

Journal reference:

Fuller-Thomson, E., et al. (2023) Temporal Trends (from 2008 to 2017) in Functional Limitations and Limitations in Activities of Every day Living: Findings from a Nationally Representative Sample of 5.4 Million Older Americans. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032665.