Chronic disability rate drops for elderly
Chronic disability among older Americans has dropped steadily since the early 1980s, a finding that may shape reforms and the debate over Medicare and other government health programs, Duke University researchers in Durham, NC, say.
Although Americans are living longer, the study appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests people do not spend all their senior years disabled. Rather, more people remain reasonably fit and independent until late in life.
The Duke demographers say the chronic disability rate for people 65 and older dropped by 15% from 1982 to 1994. The decline was most pronounced in the final five years studied and among the older and most disabled populations.
By definition, the chronically disabled are people in a long-term care setting or people who cannot take care of themselves on a daily basis for at least three months.
There were 7.1 million chronically disabled people in the nation in 1994, many on Medicare or Medicaid. The demographers write that had the disability rate remained steady, there would have been 1.2 million more older disabled people.
"If declines in chronic disability continue, the magnitude of changes required in the Medicare (and Medicaid) benefits might be reduced," the demographers write.
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content