SORA

Advancing, promoting and sharing knowledge of health through excellence in teaching, clinical practice and research into the prevention and treatment of illness

Ethnic Differences in Disability Prevalence and Their Determinants Studied over a 20-Year Period: A Cohort Study.

Williams, ED; Tillin, T; Whincup, P; Forouhi, NG; Chaturvedi, N (2012) Ethnic Differences in Disability Prevalence and Their Determinants Studied over a 20-Year Period: A Cohort Study. PLOS ONE, 7 (9). e45602. ISSN 1932-6203 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0045602
SGUL Authors: Whincup, Peter Hynes

[img]
Preview
["document_typename_application/pdf; charset=binary" not defined] Published Version
Download (249kB) | Preview

Abstract

BACKGROUND: To compare disability prevalence rates in the major ethnic groups in the UK and understand the risk factors contributing to differences identified. It was hypothesised that Indian Asian and African Caribbean people would experience higher rates of disability compared with Europeans. METHODS: Data was collected from 888 European, 636 Indian Asian and 265 African Caribbean men and women, aged 58-88 years at 20-year follow-up of community-based cohort study, based in West London. Disability was measured using a performance-based locomotor function test and self-reported questionnaires on functional limitation, and instrumental (IADL) and basic activities of daily living (ADL). RESULTS: The mean (SD) age of participants at follow-up was 69.6 (6.2) years. Compared with Europeans, Indian Asian people were significantly more likely to experience all of the disability outcomes than Europeans; this persisted after adjustment for socioeconomic, behavioural, adiposity and chronic disease risk factors measured at baseline (locomotor dysfunction: adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.20, 95% CI 1.56-3.11; functional limitation: OR 2.77, 2.01-3.81; IADL impairment: OR 3.12, 2.20-4.41; ADL impairment: OR 1.58, 1.11-2.24). In contrast, a modest excess risk of disability was observed in African Caribbeans, which was abolished after adjustment (e.g. locomotor dysfunction: OR 1.37, 0.90-1.91); indeed a reduced risk of ADL impairment appeared after multivariable adjustment (OR from 0.99, 0.68-1.45 to 0.59, 0.38-0.93), compared with Europeans. CONCLUSIONS: Substantially elevated risk of disability was observed among Indian Asian participants, unexplained by known factors. A greater understanding of determinants of disability and normative functional beliefs of healthy aging is required in this population to inform intervention efforts to prevent disability.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: ©2012 Williams et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Keywords: Activities of Daily Living, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cohort Studies, Disabled Persons, Ethnic Groups, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Prevalence, Questionnaires, Science & Technology, Multidisciplinary Sciences, Science & Technology - Other Topics, CORONARY-HEART-DISEASE, VITAMIN-D DEFICIENCY, ASIAN OLDER-ADULTS, BODY-COMPOSITION, PHYSICAL-DISABILITY, SOCIOECONOMIC-STATUS, SOUTH ASIANS, RISK-FACTORS, BRITISH MEN, FOLLOW-UP
SGUL Research Institute / Research Centre: Academic Structure > Population Health Research Institute (INPH)
Journal or Publication Title: PLOS ONE
ISSN: 1932-6203
Dates:
DateEvent
28 September 2012Published
Web of Science ID: WOS:000309973900045
Download EPMC Full text (PDF)
Download EPMC Full text (HTML)
URI: https://openaccess.sgul.ac.uk/id/eprint/101281
Publisher's version: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0045602

Actions (login required)

Edit Item Edit Item