Disabilities Plague Older Women
Reported May 08, 2009
(Ivanhoe Newswire) Its common knowledge women live longer than men. But is it a better life?
For many, the answer is no, report Duke University Medical Center researchers. Their study finds women suffer up to two and a half times more disability in old age than men. The cause: greater rates of obesity and arthritis.
While women tend to live longer than men, this study shows that they are at greater risk of living with disability and much of the excess disability is attributable to higher rates of obesity and arthritis, study author Heather Whitson, M.D., was quoted as saying. This is important because it suggests that womens tendency to pack on extra pounds in their child-bearing and peri-menopausal years translates into loss of independence in their old age.
Overall, obesity and arthritis explained about 48 percent of the excess disability experienced by women in the study. Women were also more likely to experience bone fractures, vision problems, and bronchitis. Men had more problems with emphysema, heart disease, congestive heart failure, stroke, diabetes, and hearing loss.
The researchers believe the disability problems seen in todays older women will only get worse, as the nation continues to suffer from an obesity epidemic and more women experience diseases more commonly associated with men, like lung disease and heart disease.
The findings of our study are more troubling when you consider the increasing rates of obesity among women and the higher rates of other conditions that are currently over-represented among men, senior study author Harvey Jay Cohen, M.D., was quoted as saying. We need to help women make better decisions earlier in life.
The research is based on data collected from 5,888 older men and women enrolled in the Cardiovascular Health Study.
SOURCE: Presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Geriatrics Society, May 2, 2009