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Ten-year change in disability prevalence and related factors in two generations of French elderly community dwellers: data from the PAQUID study

  • Section On Longitudinal Studies
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Abstract

Background and aims: Some studies have reported a decline in disability prevalence in older people, but few data were available for Europe, especially for France. Our aim was to study the 10-year evolution of disability prevalence in elderly community dwellers and related factors. Methods: Two generations of subjects aged 75 to 84, participants in the PAQUID (Personnes Agées QUID) cohort were compared. The first generation included 1496 subjects (born between 1903 and 1912) and the second 910 subjects (born between 1913 and 1922). Three domains of disability were assessed: mobility, Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental ADL (IADL). Logistic regressions were used to explain the effect of generation on disability, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, impairment, life-style, medical care, and social support. Results: The percentage of subjects fully independent increased from 13.5 to 23.3% (p<0.001). A large decline in disability prevalence independent of the controlled factors was observed for mobility in both genders [Odds Ratio for the second generation (ORG2)=0.48, 95% CI 0.38–0.60]. When adjusting for age and education, the risk of IADL disability was significantly lower in women in the second generation (ORG2 0.61, 95% CI 0.49–0.77), and the generation effect was strengthened when adjusting for the other covariates, but unchanged in men (ORG2 1.09, 95% CI 0.81–1.48). There was no significant change for ADL. Conclusions: A significant decline in disability prevalence was observed over 10 years, which was not explained by the selected covariates. These aggregate changes differed by gender, education, and the domain of disability considered.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSERM U593, University of Bordeaux 2, France

    Karine Pérès PhD, Catherine Helmer, Luc Letenneur & Pascale Barberger-Gateau

  2. Equipe Mixte INSERM 03–38, University of Bordeaux 2, France

    Hélène Jacqmin-Gadda

Authors
  1. Karine Pérès PhD
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  2. Catherine Helmer
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  3. Luc Letenneur
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  4. Hélène Jacqmin-Gadda
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  5. Pascale Barberger-Gateau
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karine Pérès PhD.

Additional information

Part of this paper was presented at the REVES 2002 meeting — Hammamet, Tunisia, April 24–26, 2002.

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Pérès, K., Helmer, C., Letenneur, L. et al. Ten-year change in disability prevalence and related factors in two generations of French elderly community dwellers: data from the PAQUID study. Aging Clin Exp Res 17, 229–235 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03324602

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03324602

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