Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Soc Sci Med. 2010 Oct;71(8):1418-27. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.06.046. Epub 2010 Aug 12.
Unprecedented population aging in poorer settings is coinciding with the rapid spread of obesity and other chronic conditions. These conditions predict disability and poor self-rated health and often are more prevalent in women than men. Thus, gender gaps in obesity and other chronic conditions may account for older women's greater disability and worse self-rated health in poor, rural populations, where aging, obesity, and chronic conditions are rapidly emerging. In a survey of 604 adults 50 years and older in rural Guatemala, we assessed whether gender gaps in obesity and other chronic conditions accounted for gender gaps in disability and self-rated health. Obesity strongly predicted gross mobility (GM) disability, and the number of chronic conditions strongly predicted all outcomes, especially in women. Controlling for gender gaps in body-mass index (BMI) and especially the number of chronic conditions eliminated gender gaps in GM disability, and controlling for gender gaps in the number of chronic conditions eliminated gender gaps in self-rated health. We recommend conducting longitudinal cohort studies to explore interventions that may mitigate adult obesity and chronic conditions among poor, rural older adults. Such interventions also may reduce gender gaps in later-life disability and self-rated health.
在较贫困地区，前所未有的人口老龄化与肥胖症和其他慢性病的迅速传播相吻合。这些疾病会导致残疾和健康自评较差，而且通常在女性中比男性更为普遍。因此，肥胖症和其他慢性病方面的性别差距可能是导致贫困农村地区老年女性残疾和健康自评较差的原因，在这些地区，人口老龄化、肥胖症和慢性病正迅速出现。在对危地马拉农村地区 604 名 50 岁及以上成年人进行的一项调查中，我们评估了肥胖症和其他慢性病方面的性别差距是否导致了残疾和健康自评方面的性别差距。肥胖症强烈预测了总体移动能力（GM）残疾，而慢性病的数量强烈预测了所有结果，尤其是在女性中。控制了 BMI（身体质量指数）方面的性别差距，特别是慢性病的数量，消除了 GM 残疾方面的性别差距，而控制了慢性病数量方面的性别差距则消除了健康自评方面的性别差距。我们建议开展纵向队列研究，以探索可能减轻贫困农村地区老年成年人肥胖症和慢性病的干预措施。此类干预措施还可能减少老年时残疾和健康自评方面的性别差距。
