Functional disability and associated factors in two samples of elderly Nigerians

Abstract

Background: The increasing number of elderly persons and their attendant functional disability have implication on public health programmes in developing countries. However, there is limited information on the profile of disability in the elderly residing outside major cities in Nigeria. Objectives: This was to estimates disability in a representative sample of persons aged 60 and older in an urban and a rural areas of Oyo State. Methods Design: A comparative cross-sectional survey. Setting: Iseyin and Ilua are urban and rural communities, respectively, in Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State, in South Western Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-demographic characteristics and instrumental activities of daily living. Participants: Consenting adults aged 60 years and above. Main Outcome Measures: These include the prevalence of disability in both communities major impairments or health problems with a significant difference in limiting the activities of the elderly, instrumental activities of daily living activities of daily living (IADL-ADL) disability by location and significant predictors of disability in both groups. Results: A total of 630 respondents: 316 in urban and 314 in rural locations were interviewed. The majority (61.4%) were females and 42.1% were aged 60–69 years. The prevalence of disability was 32.7% (30.1% and 35.4%) among urban and rural respondents, respectively. The main ADL-IADL disabilities reported were going to farm or some other places of work (19.2%), doing everyday household chores (18.1%) and getting around the house (15.7%). Significantly higher proportion of those in urban (73.7%) compared to rural (57.7%) had a severe disability (P = 0.016). IADL was also significantly higher (20.9%) among urban respondents (P = 0.010). Significant predictors for disability were increasing age, not working currently and having a health problem. Conclusions: Functional disability was prevalent in both communities, but more so in the urban area. Other social factors were predictors.