Mortality risk associated with disability: A population-based record linkage study

I.M. Majer, W.J. Nusselder, J.P. Mackenbach, B. Klijs and P.H.M. Van Baal

American Journal of Public Health, 2011, vol. 101, issue 12, e9-e15

Abstract: Objectives: We assessed the association between mortality and disability and quantified the effect of disability-associated risk factors. Methods: We linked data from cross-sectional health surveys in the Netherlands to the population registry to create a large data set comprising baseline covariates and an indicator of death. We used Cox regression models to estimate the hazard ratio of disability on mortality. Results: Among men, the unadjusted hazard ratio for activities of daily living, mobility, or mild disability defined by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development at age 55 years was 7.85 (95% confidence interval [CI]=4.36, 14.13), 5.21 (95% CI=3.19, 8.51), and 1.87 (95% CI=1.58, 2.22), respectively. People with disability in activities of daily living and mobility had a 10-year shorter life expectancy than nondisabled people had, of which 6 years could be explained by differences in lifestyle, sociodemographics, and major chronic diseases. Conclusions: Disabled people face a higher mortality risk than nondisabled people do. Although the difference can be explained by diseases and other risk factors for those with mild disability, we cannot rule out that more severe disabilities have an independent effect on mortality.

Date: 2011
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300361

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2011.300361_5

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300361

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().