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Female disability disadvantage: a global perspective on sex differences in physical function and disability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 May 2015

FELICIA V. WHEATON  and
EILEEN M. CRIMMINS
FELICIA V. WHEATON*
Affiliation:
Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
EILEEN M. CRIMMINS
Affiliation:
Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
*
Address for correspondence: Felicia V. Wheaton, Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, 3715 McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90089–0191, USA E-mail: fwheaton@usc.edu
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Abstract

The objectives were to determine whether women always fare more poorly in terms of physical function and disability across countries that vary widely in terms of their level of development, epidemiologic context and level of gender equality. Sex differences in self-reported and objective measures of disability and physical function were compared among older adults aged 55–85 in the United States of America, Taiwan, Korea, Mexico, China, Indonesia and among the Tsimane of Bolivia using population-based studies collected between 2001 and 2011. Data were analysed using logistic and ordinary least-squares regression. Confidence intervals were examined to see whether the effect of being female differed significantly between countries. In all countries, women had consistently worse physical functioning (both self-reported and objectively measured). Women also tended to report more difficulty with activities of daily living (ADL), although differences were not always significant. In general, sex differences across measures were less pronounced in China. In Korea, women had significantly lower grip strength, but sex differences in ADL difficulty were non-significant or even reversed. Education and marital status helped explain sex differences. Overall, there was striking similarity in the magnitude and direction of sex differences across countries despite considerable differences in context, although modest variations in the effect of sex were observed.

Keywords

disabilityphysical functioningsex differencesinternational differences.
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 36 , Issue 6 , July 2016 , pp. 1136 - 1156
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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