Trajectory of functional status among older Taiwanese: Gender and age variations

Current findings on gender and age differences in health trajectories in later life are equivocal and largely based upon data derived from Western developed nations. This study examines gender and age variations in the trajectory of functional status among older adults in Taiwan, a non-Western newly...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science & medicine (1982) 2010-09, Vol.71 (6), p.1208-1217
Main Authors: Liang, Jersey, Wang, Chia-Ning, Xu, Xiao, Hsu, Hui-Chuan, Lin, Hui-Shen, Lin, Yu-Hsuan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of Daily Living
Age Differences
Age Factors
Aged
Biological and medical sciences
Disabled Persons - statistics & numerical data
Elderly
Female
Females
Functional analysis
Functional status
Gender
Gender differences
Health
Health inequality
Health Status
Health Surveys
Hierarchical linear models
Hierarchical scales
Humans
Industrialized nations
Linear Analysis
Linear Models
Longitudinal
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Males
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Older adults
Older people
Physically Handicapped
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Sex
Sex Factors
Social sciences
Taiwan
Taiwan Functional status Gender Hierarchical linear models Older adults Longitudinal
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Summary:Current findings on gender and age differences in health trajectories in later life are equivocal and largely based upon data derived from Western developed nations. This study examines gender and age variations in the trajectory of functional status among older adults in Taiwan, a non-Western newly industrialized society. Data came from a sample of some 3500 Taiwanese aged 60 and over, initially surveyed in 1989 and subsequently followed in 1993, 1996, 1999, and 2003. Hierarchical linear models with time-varying covariates were employed in depicting the dynamics of functional status across gender and age. Women and the old–old experienced higher levels of disability and rates of increase than their male and young–old counterparts. Moreover, older women bore a disproportionately larger burden of disability. There are therefore significant gender and age variations in the trajectory of functional status among older Taiwanese. These findings provide evidence for the generalizability of prior observations to a non-Western society.
ISSN:0277-9536
1873-5347
DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.05.007