Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, United States.
School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Soc Sci Med. 2010 Jul;71(2):282-287. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.03.037. Epub 2010 Apr 22.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the socioeconomic disparity in disability status in Korea improved during the decade between 1994 and 2004. Information was obtained from the National Survey of Elders' Life and Welfare Desires in 1994, 1998, and 2004. Age-adjusted disability rates by educational level and income were calculated separately for women and men. Prevalence ratios for disability by education and income were estimated using log-binomial regression. The relative index of inequality (RII) was calculated controlling for age. We also assessed trends in the disability rate as well as the RII p-trend by year. We found that disability rates declined during the decade from 1994 to 2004 among Koreans aged 65 years old or older. Older persons with less education and income exhibited greater decline in their disability than did those with higher socioeconomic status. Although the absolute disparity in disability decreased during the studied decade, the relative disparity for any disability remained stable in terms of both education and income. Despite rapid decreases in socioeconomic inequality among older adults with severe disabilities, older adults with lower socioeconomic status have remained more vulnerable to milder forms of disability during recent years.
本研究旨在评估韩国在 1994 年至 2004 年的十年间，残疾状况的社会经济差距是否有所改善。信息来自于 1994 年、1998 年和 2004 年的全国老年人生活和福利意愿调查。分别为女性和男性计算了按教育水平和收入调整的年龄调整残疾率。使用对数二项式回归估计残疾的教育和收入的患病率比。在控制年龄的情况下计算相对不平等指数 (RII)。我们还评估了残疾率的趋势以及按年份的 RII p-趋势。我们发现，在 1994 年至 2004 年期间，韩国 65 岁及以上老年人的残疾率有所下降。受教育程度和收入较低的老年人残疾状况的下降幅度大于社会经济地位较高的老年人。尽管在研究期间残疾的绝对差距有所缩小，但在教育和收入方面，任何残疾的相对差距仍然保持稳定。尽管严重残疾的老年人的社会经济不平等迅速减少，但近年来，社会经济地位较低的老年人更容易受到轻度残疾的影响。
