Medhi Gajendra K, Visi Vizovonuo, Bora Parash J, Sarma Jogesh, Borah Prasanta, Mahanta Jagdish, Bhattacharyya Himashree, Pala Star
Community Medicine, North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences, Shillong, IND.
Pulmonary Medicine, Gauhati Medical College, Guwahati, IND.
Cureus. 2021 Feb 12;13(2):e13309. doi: 10.7759/cureus.13309.
Background Functional disability in older adults is common and adversely impacts the quality of life. Given the paucity of population-based data, the present analysis attempted to determine the prevalence and factors associated with functional disability in basic activities of daily living (ADLs) among the elderly population in a rural setting of Northeastern state of India Methods A total of 430 elderly were recruited in a population-based cross-sectional study among elderly individuals (≥60 years) during the period 2013-2016 in rural areas of the Dibrugarh district of Northeastern India. The Barthel index was used to measure ADL. Anyone with a Barthel index score <100 (or having limitations in one or more ADL items) were considered as having a functional disability. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) test and the binary logistic regression analysis were used to examine the factors associated with functional disability. Results Overall, 43.7% % (Male 42.9%, Female 44.5%) of the participants had a functional disability. Increasing age, being widowed, having no formal education, being underweight (body mass index (BMI)<18.5 kg/m), and increasing numbers of morbidities were significantly associated with functional disability among the elderly in this study in age and gender-adjusted logistic regression analysis. Being ≥80 years was associated with a three-fold greater risk (OR=31.72, 95% CI=1.3-6.91) of functional disability than the youngest age group (60-69 years). On the other hand, the presence of more than five morbidities was associated with a nearly 20 times increased risk (OR=19.61, 95% CI=9.01-42.68) than those with zero to two morbidities. Conclusion A high proportion of the rural elderly residents of Dibrugarh had a functional disability. The study provides epidemiological evidence of the risk factors of functional disability in this setting. This epidemiological information may be useful for developing prevention strategies to reduce the burden of functional disability.
老年人的功能残疾很常见，对生活质量有不利影响。鉴于基于人群的数据匮乏，本分析试图确定印度东北部一个邦农村地区老年人群中日常生活活动（ADL）功能残疾的患病率及其相关因素。方法：在2013年至2016年期间，于印度东北部迪布鲁格尔区农村地区对老年人（≥60岁）开展了一项基于人群的横断面研究，共招募了430名老年人。采用巴氏指数来衡量ADL。巴氏指数评分<100（或在一项或多项ADL项目上存在限制）的任何人被视为有功能残疾。采用方差分析（ANOVA）检验和二元逻辑回归分析来研究与功能残疾相关的因素。结果：总体而言，43.7%（男性42.9%，女性44.5%）的参与者有功能残疾。在年龄和性别调整的逻辑回归分析中，年龄增长、丧偶、未接受正规教育、体重过轻（体重指数（BMI）<18.5 kg/m²）以及发病数量增加与该研究中老年人的功能残疾显著相关。80岁及以上人群发生功能残疾的风险比最年轻年龄组（60 - 69岁）高两倍（OR = 31.72，95% CI = 1.3 - 6.91）。另一方面，发病超过五种的人群发生功能残疾的风险比发病零至两种的人群增加近20倍（OR = 19.61，95% CI = 9.01 - 42.68）。结论：迪布鲁格尔农村地区的老年居民中很大一部分存在功能残疾。该研究提供了这一背景下功能残疾危险因素的流行病学证据。这些流行病学信息可能有助于制定预防策略以减轻功能残疾的负担。
