Disability Trends in Hong Kong Community-Dwelling Chinese Older Adults

Abstract

Objective: This article examines the trends of disability in six activities of daily living (ADLs) among Hong Kong community-dwelling older adults during the period from 1996 to 2004 by using three independent cross-sectional surveys of representative samples. Method: Logistic regression was performed to assess the association between the year of survey and the presence of any ADL limitation with a wide range of covariates. Results: We found that older adults in 2004 were more likely to report ADL disability than their counterparts in 1996, and the results would remain valid after considering the prevalence of ADL disability in nursing home residents. In addition, we found that age, education, the use of proxy, and the presence of six medical conditions were significantly related to ADL limitation. Discussion: In general, public health efforts to prevent ADL limitation should be supported to reduce the demand for long-term care services in the coming decades.