LOS ANGELES, Nov 17, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- U.S. researchers say people
entering their seventh decade may be more disabled than those of prior
generations.
Researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of
California, Los Angeles, examined two sets of data that included information on
several disabilities, such as difficulties performing household chores or
walking from room to room, based on the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Surveys for 1988 and 1999.
The researchers found an increase in several types of disabilities overtime in
those now between the ages of 60-69. However, those between the ages of 70-79 as
well as those age 80 and older saw no significant increases -- and in some cases
exhibited fewer disabilities than their previous cohorts had.
The study, scheduled to be published in the American Journal of Public Health,
suggests the changes may be partly due to changing U.S. demographics and could
hold significant implications for healthcare.
"If this trend continues unchecked, it will put increasing pressure on our
society to take care of these disabled individuals," study principal
investigator Teresa Seeman said in a statement. "This would just put more of a
burden on the healthcare system to address the higher levels of these problems."
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Copyright 2009 by United Press International