Coping with aging: international challenges.

This DataWatch discusses trends in functional health status among the elderly in several countries. Life expectancy at an advanced age has increased, and there is some evidence of lower prevalence of severe disability and a trend toward deinstitutionalization. These changes may result in fewer severely disabled persons, but the impact is less clear from the perspective of public finances, because of the increased need for formal home care and the relative subsidization of institutions. The implications for health care need further research but also may point to increased expenditures.