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Senior Citizen Health & Medicine
Senior Citizens See Continued Decline in Chronic
Disability Rates
Analysis found average annual rate of the
decline has accelerated
December 1, 2006 - Chronic disability among older
Americans has dropped dramatically, and the rate of decline has
accelerated during the past two decades, according to a new analysis of
data from the National Long-Term Care Survey (NLTCS). The study,
published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, found that the prevalence of chronic disability among people
65 and older fell from 26.5 percent in 1982 to 19 percent in 2004/2005.
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The findings suggest that older Americans' health
and function continue to improve at a critical time in the aging of the
population.
The study was funded by the National Institute on
Aging (NIA), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A
caregiving component of the survey was supported by the Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. All are part of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Kenneth G. Manton, Ph.D.,
and colleagues at Duke University conducted the research.
In addition to a drop in the percentage of older
Americans reporting disability, the analysis found that the average
annual rate of the decline has accelerated. The decline in disability
averaged 1.52 percent annually over the 22-year time span, but the rate
of change shifted gradually from 0.6 percent in 1984 to 2.2 percent in
2004/2005.
"This continuing decline in disability among older
people is one of the most encouraging and important trends in the aging
of the American population," says NIA Director Richard J. Hodes, M.D.
The report is an eagerly anticipated update of the
last assessment of NLTCS data in 2001. "The challenge now is to see how
this trend can be maintained and accelerated especially in the face of
increasing obesity," says Richard Suzman, Ph.D., director of NIA's
Behavioral and Social Research Program. "Doing so over the next several
decades will significantly lessen the societal impact of the aging of
the baby-boom generation."
The analysis also showed that from 1982 to
2004/2005:
● Chronic disability rates decreased among those
over 65 with both severe and less severe impairments, with the greatest
improvements seen among the most severely impaired. The researchers note
that environmental modifications, assistive technologies and biomedical
advances may be factors in these declines.
● The proportion of people without disabilities
increased the most in the oldest age group, rising by 32.6 percent among
those 85 years and older.
● The percentage of Medicare enrollees age 65 and
older who lived in long-term care institutions such as nursing homes
dropped dramatically from 7.5 percent to 4.0 percent. The emergence of
assisted-living options, changes in Medicare reimbursement policies and
improved rehabilitation services may have fueled this decrease in
institutionalization.
If they continue as anticipated, the downward
trends in chronic disability rates among older adults could help bolster
the Medicare program's fiscal health, the researchers suggest.
Editor's Notes:
Funded through a cooperative agreement between
the NIA and Duke University, the NLTCS is a periodic federal government
survey of approximately 20,000 Medicare enrollees.
The NIA leads the federal effort supporting and
conducting research on aging and the medical, social and behavioral
issues of older people. For more information on research and aging, go
to www.nia.nih.gov. Publications on research and a variety of health and
aging topics can be viewed and ordered by visiting the NIA Web site or
can be ordered by calling toll-free 1-800-222-2225.
The NIH the nation's medical research agency
includes 27 institutes and centers and is a component of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal
agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational
medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments and cures
for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and
its programs, visit
www.nih.gov.
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