Evaluation of disability and some of its related factors among the elderly population (65 and older) in Kiar, Iran

Similar to developing countries, in Iran because of the epidemiology and demography transition phase, disability along with health costs are increasing day by day while reports are indicated of decreasing trend of the disability in developed countries. This study designed to evaluate the disability and some of its related factors among the elderly population (65 and older) in kiar, Iran. A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on a multi-stage random sample of 350 elderly people (65 year and older) in Kiar. Tow questionnaire used for gathering data. The WHO-DAS-II was used as the generic disability measure and self-structured questionnaire. The WHO-DAS-II had 36 questions. The range of score could be between 0-144. Chi-square, t-test analysis and ANOVA were utilized to check significant differences between subgroups. Results of the total sample, 58.9% were men and 24.6% were living lonely 27.1% had some type of addiction, the majority were illiterate and two third had not regular physical activity. 70.1% of the old people had a low and very low disability and 2.3% were extremely disabled. A significant relationship was found between the disability and variables such as sex, age, living style, needing help, marriage status, addiction, job, level of physical activity, education, and having multiple diseases. Geriatric population in Iran, has a lower level of disability in compare to those of other developed countries. Need of geriatric cares must be increasing, since the population pattern of elderly people is increasing in Iran.