Global mapping of dependency in older people
Resumen:
This paper addresses the geographical differences in the prevalence of dependency in older adults and its differences by demographic characteristics (gender and age) within and across countries. We estimate internationally comparable dependency indicators for 31 countries in 4 continents with available information on help requirements in Activities of Daily Living for people aged 65 and older. The main indicator includes three activities: bathing, eating, and dressing. The highest level of dependency is found in Israel (18.5%) and the lower in Switzerland (5.5%). Dependency rates are almost always higher for women than for men, but sex differences only appear in people aged 80+ and statistically country differences blur for those aged 65-79. Our analysis supports the male-female survival paradox for dependency. The differences found in the prevalence regarding the family of surveys is a strong argument for the international harmonization of the formulation of the dependency questions.
Este trabajo aborda las diferencias geográficas en la prevalencia de la dependencia en adultos mayores y sus diferencias por características demográficas (género y edad) dentro y entre países. Se estiman indicadores de dependencia comparables internacionalmente para 31 países de 4 continentes con información disponible sobre necesidades de ayuda en Actividades de la Vida Diaria para personas de 65 años o más. El indicador principal incluye tres actividades: bañarse, comer y vestirse. El mayor nivel de dependencia se observa en Israel (18,5%) y el menor en Suiza (5,5%). Las tasas de dependencia son mayores entre las mujeres, pero las diferencias por sexo sólo aparecen en las personas mayores de 80 años y no son significativas entre las personas de 65 a 79 años. Nuestro análisis corrobora la paradoja de la supervivencia masculina-femenina para la dependencia. Las diferencias encontradas en la prevalencia de la dependencia con respecto al tipo de encuesta es un argumento de peso para la armonización internacional de la formulación de las preguntas sobre dependencia.
| 2024 | |
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Actividades de la vida diaria Envejecimiento SHARE Necesidad de ayuda HRS Activities of daily living Need for help Ageing measures ECONOMIA DE LA SALUD ECONOMIA DEL CUIDADO |
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| Inglés | |
| Universidad de la República | |
| COLIBRI | |
| https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12008/43675 | |
| Acceso abierto | |
| Licencia Creative Commons Atribución - No Comercial - Sin Derivadas (CC - By-NC-ND 4.0) |
| Sumario: | This paper addresses the geographical differences in the prevalence of dependency in older adults and its differences by demographic characteristics (gender and age) within and across countries. We estimate internationally comparable dependency indicators for 31 countries in 4 continents with available information on help requirements in Activities of Daily Living for people aged 65 and older. The main indicator includes three activities: bathing, eating, and dressing. The highest level of dependency is found in Israel (18.5%) and the lower in Switzerland (5.5%). Dependency rates are almost always higher for women than for men, but sex differences only appear in people aged 80+ and statistically country differences blur for those aged 65-79. Our analysis supports the male-female survival paradox for dependency. The differences found in the prevalence regarding the family of surveys is a strong argument for the international harmonization of the formulation of the dependency questions. |
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