Prevalence of health related disability among community dwelling urban elderly from middle socioeconomic strata in Bangaluru, India.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Research has shown that health related conditions and socio-economic factors influence disability in the elderly. We examined the prevalence of health related disability in community dwelling elderly (> or =65 yr) residents in a suburb of Bangaluru, Karnataka, India, and assessed the association of disability with various socio-economic variables and current health status. METHODS Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) disability was measured in 356 elderly in the Koramangala suburb of Bangaluru city. Various socio-economic and health related factors associated with disability were documented. RESULTS A total of 85 per cent of the respondents reported current medical problems. Based on a total disability score computed from the participation section of the ICF, 27 per cent of the respondents had mild disability while 37 per cent had higher level of disability. Disablement was significantly associated with age > 75 yr and impairment in cognitive and sensory functions especially hearing. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION In this urban elderly population while majority had current medical conditions, a significant proportion did not experience any difficulties in activities of daily living. Restriction in participation in activities of daily living was more influenced by increasing age and impairment in cognitive functions and not current health status. A multidimensional measure of disability as captured by the ICF needs to be applied to other populations such as urban poor and rural elderly to get a more comprehensive picture of disability among the elderly in India.