TY - JOUR
T1 - Sex-related differences in the length of disability prior to death in older persons
AU - Ferrucci, Luigi
AU - Turchi, Angela
AU - Fumagalli, Stefano
AU - Di Bari, Mauro
AU - Silvestrini, Gabriella
AU - Zacchei, Simona
AU - Nesti, Alessandra
AU - Magherini, Lorenza
AU - Tarantini, Francesca
AU - Pini, Riccardo
AU - Antonini, Enrico
AU - Masotti, Giulio
AU - Marchionni, Niccolò
PY - 2003/8
Y1 - 2003/8
N2 - Background and aims: It is acknowledged that, in spite of their generally worse health, women live longer than men. However, whether women also enjoy longer disability-free lives is still unclear. Using data from a representative, Italian cohort followed for 6 years, this study aimed at estimating differences between men and women in the age of disability onset and in total survival. Methods: In 1989, 651 persons aged ≥65 years were interviewed and their medical status was assessed by a geriatrician. In 1995, the time of onset of disability was reconstructed by re-interviewing 392 survivors and collecting proxy information for 201 subjects who had died. No information was available for 58 subjects who refused to be re-interviewed or were lost to follow-up. Data on changes in functional status were also collected by proxy interview for 34 additional persons who had died during the follow-up period, although they had not been originally interviewed at baseline. Results: Of the 235 deaths, 113 were men and 122 were women. On average, the age at death was 3.5 years higher among women than among men. However, the age at onset of disability was similar in the two sexes. In survival analysis in which age was the time variable, women were as likely as men to develop disability, but significantly less likely to die over the follow-up period. Conclusions: Compared with men, women experience longer disability before death. This may be due to sex-related differences in the lifetime prevalence of lethal vs. disabling diseases.
AB - Background and aims: It is acknowledged that, in spite of their generally worse health, women live longer than men. However, whether women also enjoy longer disability-free lives is still unclear. Using data from a representative, Italian cohort followed for 6 years, this study aimed at estimating differences between men and women in the age of disability onset and in total survival. Methods: In 1989, 651 persons aged ≥65 years were interviewed and their medical status was assessed by a geriatrician. In 1995, the time of onset of disability was reconstructed by re-interviewing 392 survivors and collecting proxy information for 201 subjects who had died. No information was available for 58 subjects who refused to be re-interviewed or were lost to follow-up. Data on changes in functional status were also collected by proxy interview for 34 additional persons who had died during the follow-up period, although they had not been originally interviewed at baseline. Results: Of the 235 deaths, 113 were men and 122 were women. On average, the age at death was 3.5 years higher among women than among men. However, the age at onset of disability was similar in the two sexes. In survival analysis in which age was the time variable, women were as likely as men to develop disability, but significantly less likely to die over the follow-up period. Conclusions: Compared with men, women experience longer disability before death. This may be due to sex-related differences in the lifetime prevalence of lethal vs. disabling diseases.
KW - Chronic disease
KW - Disability
KW - Functional status
KW - Health surveys
KW - Life expectancy
KW - Older persons
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=10744219756&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=10744219756&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 14661822
AN - SCOPUS:10744219756
SN - 1594-0667
VL - 15
SP - 310
EP - 314
JO - Aging clinical and experimental research
JF - Aging clinical and experimental research
IS - 4
ER -