Article Synopsis |  | Positive thinking towards longer life expectancy in the Australian population has been moderated by concern that longer periods of later life may be spent with severe disability. Studies in the USA have revealed that those with lower health risks have reduced and delayed disability, results which have not been confirmed in ageing Australians.
This study, carried out over 8 years, assessed the impacts of various health factors on timing of disability onset in elderly Australians.
The study’s findings revealed those having three or more hospital admissions manifested minimum physical disability around five years earlier than those with fewer admissions. Those with dementia were found to have the most severe disability, however, their numbers were very small. More subjects had suffered a stroke or had a respiratory illness, who were also found to have a major physical disability
The findings also identified a link between frequency of hospital admission and disability, suggesting that healthier people have reduced or delayed disability, varying according to disease type. The strongest predictors of increasing disability were age, body mass index, use of anti-hypertensive medication, history of stroke, depression score, impaired peak expiratory flow and baseline disability. |