Friday, July 2, 2010
Although women have a longer life expectancy, they experience a
much greater prevalence of disability in old age than men do. This
is the main conclusion of the study published in the latest issue
of the Journal
of Women's Health.
"We focused on a socioeconomic position factor such as educational
level and health factors such as limitations to daily activity. By
studying this relationship we were able to see the social
inequalities in dependency", Albert Espelt, lead author of the
study and a researcher at the Public Health Agency of Barcelona,
tells SINC.
The study is based on the health surveys that have been carried out
in Barcelona by the Public Health Agency since 1982. "These are
representative of the non-institutionalised population living in
Barcelona", explains the expert. In total, the team interviewed
4,244 people aged above 64 (893 in 1992, 2,140 in 2000 and 1,211 in
2006).
"We saw differences in limitations according to socioeconomic
position, which remained steady over the course of time", the
expert points out.
The prevalence of disability in people aged over 64 increased among
women in Catalonia between 1992 and 2006, but not among men, due to
the increase in female life expectancy. The prevalence of
disability in 2006 was 30% among men and 53% in women. In other
words, it increases among the most elderly women.
"The double burden of work that women experience throughout their
lives (domestic work and work outside the home) is a key factor in
explaining this difference in different studies", says Espelt.
Domestic work is less rewarding than working outside the home, and
leads to a greater prevalence of non-fatal diseases such as
musculoskeletal problems and depression.
Fewer inequalities with the Law of Dependency?
The Law to Promote Personal Autonomy and Care for Dependent People
governs the basic conditions for ensuring equality in personal
autonomy and care for dependent people.
"In this sense, the law approved in 2006 has represented a step
forward in recognising a new universal right for citizens. Now it
is to be hoped that this law will help to reduce the social
inequalities that we found in our study", points out the
researcher.
"It is still too soon to demonstrate the impact of the 2006 law",
says Espelt. The Public Health Agency of Barcelona is already
designing a new health survey for 2011, which will include the same
questions as the previous one.
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FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology: http://www.fecyt.es/fecyt/home.doThanks
to FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology for this
article.