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Associated Covariates of Functional Limitation Among Older Adults in India: an Exploration

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Abstract

Using the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India 2010 pilot survey data, the present study examines the covariates and risk factors associated with functional limitations among older adults (45+ ages) in India. Functional limitation is defined as the difficultly in performing some basic activities of daily livings (ADLs) viz. bathing, eating, walking, dressing, toileting and getting in/out of bed. Result suggests that one in every seven older adults in India has at least one of the functional limitations. Among all the activities of daily livings, the most reported problem is difficulty in getting in and out of bed (7 %) followed by walking (6.6 %) and toileting (5.5 %). Age and physical functionality is inversely correlated; older adults aged 60 years report more functional limitations and this becomes more noticeable for older adults aged 75 years and above. We found inverse association between functional limitations and education level and positive association with wealth possession. The multivariate results also corroborate the findings of bivariate results that older adults at higher age, females and older adults with low education are more likely to have functional limitations than their counterpart groups. The likelihood of functional limitations increases significantly in the presence of chronic diseases and smoking tobacco. These finding calls for devising policy to ensure the social security and health care requirements of aged, uneducated, females, poor and those suffering from chronic diseases.

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Notes

  1. Older adult is defined as person aged 45 and above.

  2. United Nations defines a country to have experienced population ageing when the share of its 60+ aged population reaches 7 %.

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Acknowledgments

The authors express their deep gratitude to Jitendra Gouda for his valuable suggestion during preparation of manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Govandi Station Road, Deonar, Mumbai, 400088, India

    Anshul Kastor & Sanjay K. Mohanty

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  1. Anshul Kastor
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  2. Sanjay K. Mohanty
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Correspondence to Anshul Kastor.

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The study used the data set that is available online in public domain; hence, there was no need to seek ethical consent to publish this study.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by the author.

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This research received no grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

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Kastor, A., Mohanty, S.K. Associated Covariates of Functional Limitation Among Older Adults in India: an Exploration. Ageing Int 41, 178–192 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-016-9241-y

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