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Disability-free life expectancy: a cross-national comparison of six longitudinal studies on aging. The CLESA project

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Abstract

Disability-free life expectancy (DFLE) was compared in six countries taking part in the Cross-national Determinants of Quality of Life and Health Services for the Elderly (CLESA) project. Data from six existing longitudinal studies were used: TamELSA (Tampere, Finland), CALAS (Israel), ILSA (Italy), LASA (The Netherlands), Aging in Leganés (Leganés, Spain) and SATSA (Sweden). A harmonised four-item disability measure (bathing, dressing, transferring, toileting) was used to calculate DFLE; the harmonised measure was dichotomised into ‘independent in all four activities’ vs. ‘dependent in at least one’. Calculations of DFLE were made using the multistate life table approach and the IMaCh program (INED/EuroREVES, http://eurorevesinedfr/imach/) for subjects aged 65–89 years. Prevalence ratios of disability varied significantly across countries, with Italy and Leganés having the highest percentages among men and among women, respectively, while The Netherlands presented the lowest for both sexes. At 75 years of age the estimated total life expectancy among men ranged from 7.8 years in Tampere and Sweden to 9.0 years in Israel; among women it ranged from 9.5 years in Israel to 11.6 years in Italy. For both sexes Italy showed the lowest total life expectancy without disability (72% among men, 61% among women) and Sweden the highest (89% among men and 71% among women). The results yielded a north/south gradient, with residents in Tampere, The Netherlands and Sweden expected to spend a higher percentage of their lives without disability than those in Italy, Israel and Leganés.

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Acknowledgements

The CLESA Project is supported by EU QoL2000-00664. The TamELSA is supported by the Academy of Finland, the Juho Vainio Foundation, the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation, and the Medical Research Fund of Tampere University Hospital. CALAS is supported by the United States National Institute on Aging (grants R01-5885-03 and R01-5885-06). ILSA is supported by the National Research Council and the Italian Department of Health—National Institutes of Health. LASA is supported by The Netherlands Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports and the Vrije Universiteit. Aging in Leganés is supported by the Spanish Health Research Fund (FIS), the Madrid Regional Research Fund, and Private Foundations (La Caixa, BBVA). SATSA is supported by the United States National Institute on Aging (AG 04563, 10175) and the Swedish Social Research Council. The CLESA Working Group includes the following: M. Jylhä M (Principal Investigator), S. Nikula, V. Autio, Finland; J. Gindin (Principal Investigator), T. Blumstein, A. Chetrit, A. Walter-Ginzburg, K. Shamay K, the late M. Baruch (former Principal Investigator), Israel; S. Maggi (Project Leader), N. Minicuci, M. Noale, C. Marzari, Italy; D.J.H. Deeg (Principal Investigator), S.M.F. Pluijm, The Netherlands; A. Otero (Principal Investigator), M.J. Garcia de Yebenes, A. Rodríguez-Laso, M.V. Zunzunegui, Spain; N.L. Pedersen (Principal Investigator), C. Bardage, Sweden.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Padua Ageing Unit, Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, via Giustiniani 2, 35128, Padua, Italy

    N. Minicuci & M. Noale

  2. Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    S. M. F. Pluijm & D. J. H. Deeg

  3. Centro Universitario de Salud Pública, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    M. V. Zunzunegui

  4. Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel

    T. Blumstein

  5. Department of Medical Epidemiology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

    C. Bardage

  6. School of Public Health, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland

    M. Jylhä

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  1. N. Minicuci
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  2. M. Noale
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  3. S. M. F. Pluijm
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  4. M. V. Zunzunegui
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  5. T. Blumstein
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  6. D. J. H. Deeg
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  7. C. Bardage
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  8. M. Jylhä
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Correspondence to N. Minicuci.

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Minicuci, N., Noale, M., Pluijm, S.M.F. et al. Disability-free life expectancy: a cross-national comparison of six longitudinal studies on aging. The CLESA project. Eur J Ageing 1, 37–44 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-004-0002-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-004-0002-5

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