Abstract
Cross-national variation in elder health is well established, with older adults in developing countries reporting poorer health than elders in developed countries. However, cross-national research using performance-based assessment is rare. We examined grip strength in American and Indian elders using a common methodology and found that older adults in India had significantly poorer strength than the US sample even when matched for age, gender, medical conditions, and self-rated disability. The difference in performance is likely explained by life-long differences in nutrition, occupational demands, and access to medical care. These differences in health among people who have survived to old age may also explain differences in life expectancy in later life.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alam, M. (2005). South Asian elderly: ADL and IADL statuses of the elderly in India: A preliminary investigation based on a household survey in Delhi. Population Research Center, Institute of Economic Growth. Delhi, India.
Alam, M., & Mukherjee, M. (2004). Ageing, ADL disabilities and need for public health initiatives. IEG Working Paper Series no. E/241/2004.
Albert, S. M., & Cattell, M. G. (1994). Aging in global perspective: Cross-national and cross-cultural perspectives. New York: Macmillan.
Chanana, H. B., & Talwar, P. P. (1987). Aging in India: Its socio-economic and health implications. Asia-Pacific Population Journal, 2(3), 23–38.
Crews, D. E. (2005). Artificial environments and an aging population: Designing for age-related functional losses. Journal of Physiological Anthropology, 24(1), 103–109.
Guralnik, J. M., Fried, L. P., Simonsick, E. M., Kasper, J. D., & Lafferty, M. E. (1995). The women’s health and aging study. National Institutes of Health, NIH, 95-4009.
Joshi, K., Kumar, R., & Avasthi, A. (2003). Morbidity profile and its relationship with disability and psychological distress among elderly people in Northern India. International Journal of Epidemiology, 32(6), 978–987.
Kuh, D., Bassey, J., Hardy, R., Sayer, A. A., Wadsworth, M., & Cooper, C. (2002). Birth weight, childhood size, and muscle strength in adult life: Evidence from a birth cohort study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 156, 627–633.
Messer, E. (1997). Intra-household allocation of food and health care: Current findings and understandings—Introduction. Social Science & Medicine, 44(11), 1675–1684.
Prakash, I. J. (1999). Ageing in India. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Rantanen, T., Guralnik, J. M., Foley, D., Masaki, K., Leveille, S., Curb, J. D., et al. (1999). Midlife hand grip strength as a predictor of old age disability. JAMA, 281, 558–560.
Tang, M.-X., Stern, Y., Marder, K., Bell, K., Gurland, B., Lantigua, R., et al. (1998). The APOE-4 allele and the risk of Alzheimer disease among African-Americans, whites, and Hispanics. JAMA, 279, 751–755.
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2000). Demographic Yearbook. New York: United Nations.
Vaz, M., Hunsberger, S., & Diffey, B. (2002). Prediction equations for handgrip strength in healthy Indian male and female subjects encompassing a wide age range. Annals of Human Biology, 29 (2), 131–41.
Acknowledgments
Research supported by NIH AG18234 and UNFPA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Albert, S.M., Alam, M. & Nizamuddin, M. Comparative Study of Functional Limitation and Disability in Old Age: Delhi and New York City. J Cross Cult Gerontol 20, 231–241 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-006-9014-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-006-9014-2