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. 2017 Aug 8;17(1):177.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-017-0577-2.

Gender differences in functional disability and self-care among seniors in Bangladesh

Md Ismail Tareque  1 , Andrew D Tiedt  2 , Towfiqua Mahfuza Islam  3 , Sharifa Begum  4 , Yasuhiko Saito  5   6
Affiliations

Gender differences in functional disability and self-care among seniors in Bangladesh

Md Ismail Tareque et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: Disability among older adults is a public health concern. To date there are no in-depth and comprehensive analyses on older adults' disabilities in Bangladesh. This study investigated gender differences in the prevalence of disability and the socio-demographic factors associated with disability among older adults in Bangladesh.

Methods: This research used a sample of 4176 elderly males and females aged 60 years and over from a nationally representative data set- Bangladesh's 2010 Household Income and Expenditure Survey. The study used both household level and individual level data and applied a wealth index, which was constructed based on household assets using principal component analysis. The Washington Group's short set of questions on disability were used to measure disability. Chi-square tests and ordinal logistic regression models were fit.

Results: Forty-two percent of older had some form of functional disability, including 5% of elderly with severe/extreme functional disability. Seven percent of older adults had a self-care disability, including 3% of elderly with a severe/extreme form of self-care disability. Elderly females suffered from all the studied disabilities, including functional and self-care disabilities in higher percentages, and had higher odds ratios of having both functional disability and self-care disability compared to elderly males. The study also identified some significant factors affecting functional disability and self-care disability, namely age, having a chronic condition, wealth status and place of residence, including divisional differences.

Conclusions: Programs aimed at reducing functional disability among seniors, particularly elderly females, should be granted the highest priority in Bangladesh.

Keywords: Bangladesh; Disability; Gender disparities; Low income country; Old age.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The Ethics committee at Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) approved a waiver from ethical approval for this retrospective study. No ethical approval was required for this study since the datasets used were obtained from secondary sources of the BBS.

Consent for publication

Not Applicable.

Competing interests

The author(s) declare no potential competing interests with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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