Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, Vol 52, Issue 2 S59-S71, Copyright © 1997 by The Gerontological Society of America
Further evidence on recent trends in the prevalence and incidence of disability among older Americans from two sources: the LSOA and the NHIS
EM Crimmins, Y Saito and SL Reynolds
Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California, USA. crimmin@almaak.usc.edu
The Longitudinal Study on Aging (LSOA) and the National Health Interview
Survey (NHIS) are used to examine change in the prevalence of disability
from 1982 through 1993 for persons 70 years of age and over. Changes in the
likelihood of becoming disabled and the likelihood of recovering from
disability also are investigated with the LSOA. There is some evidence for
improving disability status among the old. The prevalence of disability is
somewhat lower in more recent years in the NHIS; also, the incidence of
disability is lower, and the rate of recovery higher during 1988-90 than in
the 1984-86 interval. On the other hand, the prevalence of disability
increases at some dates after 1984 in the LSOA sample. In both datasets,
there is fluctuation rather than a clear trend in the prevalence of
disability. Continued steady improvement in rates of onset and recovery and
a consistent trend toward improving prevalence is needed before concluding
that we are witnessing the beginning of an ongoing trend toward improving
health among the older population.
