Gender differences in functional status in middle and older age: are there any age variations?

TitleGender differences in functional status in middle and older age: are there any age variations?
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2008
AuthorsLiang, J, Bennett, JM, Shaw, BA, Quiñones, AR, Ye, W, Xu, X, Ofstedal, MBeth
JournalJ Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
Volume63
Issue5
PaginationS282-92
Date Published2008 Sep
ISSN Number1079-5014
Call Numbernewpubs20081205_Liang_etal.pdf
KeywordsActivities of Daily Living, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Disabled Persons, Female, Health Status, Humans, Linear Models, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Sex Factors, United States
Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The present study examines gender differences in changes in functional status after age 50 and how such differences vary across different age groups.

METHODS: Data came from the Health and Retirement Study, involving up to six repeated observations of a national sample of Americans older than 50 years of age between 1995 and 2006. We employed hierarchical linear models with time-varying covariates in depicting temporal variations in functional status between men and women.

RESULTS: As a quadratic function, the worsening of functional status was more accelerated in terms of the intercept and rate of change among women and those in older age groups. In addition, gender differences in the level of functional impairment were more substantial in older persons than in younger individuals, although differences in the rate of change between men and women remained constant across age groups.

DISCUSSION: A life course perspective can lead to new insights regarding gender variations in health within the context of intrapersonal and interpersonal differences. Smaller gender differences in the level of functional impairment in the younger groups may reflect improvement of women's socioeconomic status, greater rate of increase in chronic diseases among men, and less debilitating effects of diseases.

DOI10.1093/geronb/63.5.s282
User Guide Notes

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18818448?dopt=Abstract

Endnote Keywords

GENDER-DIFFERENCES/Health Physical

Endnote ID

19500

Alternate JournalJ Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
Citation Key7252
PubMed ID18818448
PubMed Central IDPMC3454348
Grant ListU01 AG009740 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG028116 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
P30 AG024824 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
P60 AG008808 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG015124 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG028116-03 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
P60-AG08808 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01 AG015124-09 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
P30 AG024824-068513 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01-AG028116 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States
R01-AG154124 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States