Baby Boomers Have More Disabilities Today

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- According to a new UCLA study, baby boomers may be entering their 60s suffering far more disabilities than their counterparts did in previous generations.  Researchers say it may be due in part to changing American demographics.

Researchers found that the cohort of people between 60 and 69 exhibited increases in several types of disabilities over time.  By contrast, those between 70 and 79 and those 80 and over saw no significant increases - and in some cases exhibited fewer disabilities than previous generations. 

"If this trend continues unchecked, it will put increasing pressure on our society to take care of these disabled individuals.  This would just put more of a burden on the health care system to address the higher levels of these problems," Teresa Seeman, UCLA professor of medicine and epidemiology and the study's principal investigator was quoted as saying. 

The researchers used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) for 1988 and 1999 to examine how disabilities for the three groups of adults aged 60, 70 and 80 and older had changed over time.  They assessed disability trends in four areas:  basic getting into and out of bed; instrumental activities, such as performing household chores; mobility; and functional limitations which include stooping, crouching or kneeling. 

Scientists found between the periods 1988 and 1999 disability among those in their 70s increased between 40 and 70 percent in each area studied except functional limitations.  By contrast, the researchers found no significant changes among the older groups, while the 80-plus group actually saw a drop in functional limitations.

One reason for the results is that disabilities may be linked with the changing racial and ethnic makeup of the group that recently reached 60, according to researchers.  The most rapid growth is projected to be among African Americans and Hispanics, which are groups with significantly higher rates of obesity, associated with higher risk for disabilities.

"Increases in disability in that group are concerning because it's a big group," Seeman said.  "These may be people who have longer histories of being overweight, and we may be seeing the consequences of that."

SOURCE: American Journal of Public Health, 2010