Mohammad Auais1, Tamer Ahmed2, Beatriz Alvarado3, Susan P Phillips4, Nicole Rosendaal5, Carmen-Lucia Curcio6, Juliana Fernandes7, Jack Guralnik8, Maria Victoria Zunzunegui9. 1. School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada. Electronic address: mohammad.auais@queensu.ca. 2. School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada. 3. Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada. 4. Department of Family Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada. 5. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA. 6. Research Group on Geriatrics and Gerontology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Caldas, Manizales, Colombia. 7. Department of Physiotherapy, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil. 8. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA. 9. Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To examine differences in incidence of functional disability between older women and men. METHODS: 2002 participants (65-74 years) were recruited in 2012 from Canada, Brazil, Colombia, and Albania, and re-assessed in 2016. Three measures of functional disability were used (1) Difficulty in any of five mobility-related Activities of Daily Living (ADL disability); (2) Self-reported difficulty climbing a flight of stairs or walking 400 m (mobility disability); and (3) Poor physical performance. We estimated the adjusted gender-specific incidence risk ratios (IRR) for each outcome in 2016. RESULTS: In 2016, 1506 participants (52% women) were re-examined, 80% of the surviving cohort. Among those not disabled in 2012, seventy-four (12.9%) men developed ADL disability, while 105 (19.2%) developed mobility disability, and 97 (16.1%) developed poor physical performance. For women, numbers were higher 120 (21.4%) developed ADL disability, 117 (26.5%) developed mobility disability, and 140 (23.0%) developed poor physical performance. Compared to men, women had a higher adjusted incidence of self-reported ADL disability (IRR 1.4; 95% CI 1.04-1.88) and mobility disability (IRR 1.4; 95% CI 1.06-1.77), but not of poor physical performance (IRR 1.03; 95% CI 0.88-1.32). CONCLUSIONS: Although women have a higher self-reported incidence of ADL and mobility disability than men, there was no significant difference in poor physical performance. Reasons for this discrepancy between self-reported and performance-based measures require further investigation. Understanding gender differences in functional disabilities can provide the basis for interventions to prevent mobility loss and minimize any gender gap.
OBJECTIVES: To examine differences in incidence of functional disability between older women and men. METHODS: 2002 participants (65-74 years) were recruited in 2012 from Canada, Brazil, Colombia, and Albania, and re-assessed in 2016. Three measures of functional disability were used (1) Difficulty in any of five mobility-related Activities of Daily Living (ADL disability); (2) Self-reported difficulty climbing a flight of stairs or walking 400 m (mobility disability); and (3) Poor physical performance. We estimated the adjusted gender-specific incidence risk ratios (IRR) for each outcome in 2016. RESULTS: In 2016, 1506 participants (52% women) were re-examined, 80% of the surviving cohort. Among those not disabled in 2012, seventy-four (12.9%) men developed ADL disability, while 105 (19.2%) developed mobility disability, and 97 (16.1%) developed poor physical performance. For women, numbers were higher 120 (21.4%) developed ADL disability, 117 (26.5%) developed mobility disability, and 140 (23.0%) developed poor physical performance. Compared to men, women had a higher adjusted incidence of self-reported ADL disability (IRR 1.4; 95% CI 1.04-1.88) and mobility disability (IRR 1.4; 95% CI 1.06-1.77), but not of poor physical performance (IRR 1.03; 95% CI 0.88-1.32). CONCLUSIONS: Although women have a higher self-reported incidence of ADL and mobility disability than men, there was no significant difference in poor physical performance. Reasons for this discrepancy between self-reported and performance-based measures require further investigation. Understanding gender differences in functional disabilities can provide the basis for interventions to prevent mobility loss and minimize any gender gap.