Incidence Rates of Disability and Its Associated Factors among Korean Community-Dwelling Older Adults

We aimed to identify incidence rates of disability and its associated factors among Korean community-dwelling older adults.

The sample included 1,739 Koreans aged over 65 yr from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (2006-2016) who reported no limitations in activities of daily living (ADL) or instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) at baseline (2006) and had complete data for other covariates. ADL, IADL, socio-demographic, lifestyle, and health-condition data were collected and analyzed using multiple logistic regression models.

The 10-yr incidence rates of ADL and IADL disability in subjects with no disability at baseline were 11.6% and 21.6%, respectively. After adjusting for socio-demographic, lifestyle, and health-condition factors, the incidence of ADL disability was higher in women (odds ratio [OR] =1.418, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.102-2.613) and increased with age (OR=1.170, 95% CI=1.133-1.208), multi-morbidity (OR=1.194, 95% CI=1.015-1.406), and obesity (OR=1.563, 95% CI=1.057-2.311). It decreased in subjects living alone (OR=0.531, 95% CI=0.328-0.856). The incidence of IADL disability increased with age (OR=1.131, 95% CI=1.102-1.161), multi-morbidity (OR=1.199, 95% CI=1.054-1.365), and cognitive disability (OR=1.422, 95% CI=1.083-1.866) and decreased for subjects living alone (OR=0.484, 95% CI=0.328-0.715) and with overweight (OR=0.725, 95% CI=0.532-0.988).

Incidence rates of disability differed considerably based on socio-demographic, lifestyle, and health-condition factors. These results suggest the importance of identifying factors that can decrease the risk of disability in this group and of prevention efforts in populations with a higher disability risk.