Prevalence and Correlates of Functional Limitation among Elderly in Kerala

The number of people surviving into old age is increasing. The ageing scenario of Kerala is much prominent than in any other states of India. Longevity of people may be resulted in poor health status, disability and loss of functional health. Functional status is an individual's ability to perform normal daily activities required to meet basic needs, fulfill usual roles and maintain health and well-being. Functional status can be measured with Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), which is a series of life functions necessary for maintaining a person's immediate environment. The aims of the present study are to distinguish the association between functional dependence and disability among elderly and to identify the various factors associated with the functional dependence of elderly. The study utilized the data from the survey, ‟Building a Knowledge Base on population Ageing in India‟. The elderly in the sample is grouped into three groups according to IADL scores. The lower score indicates greater difficulties in performing the IADL. The elderly were assessed on the different aspects of limitations and abilities to perform the IADL. Multinomial regression explains the amount of variance in IADL that can be explained by independent variables. The study indicated that elderly with some kinds of disability can do IADL by themselves, but it varies according to the type of disability and one fourth of elderly without disability have low IADL scores. It was found that marital status, living arrangements, socio-economic status and educational level of the elderly have strong bearings on the ability to perform the IADL. Problems with IADL could be closely related to subjective well being, sex and social support apart from economic variables and age. In the era of population ageing, accurate assessments of need for disability assistance are essential for effective planning of support services for the elderly.