Chronic Diseases, Health Behaviors, and Mortality in Persons with Disabilities: An Analysis of the National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening (NHIS-HEALS) Database

The purpose of the study was to compare chronic diseases and health behaviors between persons with and without disabilities matching with sex and ages, and to analyze mortality risk according to health behaviors of persons with disabilities. We used data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Health Screening Cohort (NHIS-HEALS). The chi-square test, logistic regression, and Cox’s proportional risk model were used. All statistical analyses were completed using SAS Enterprise Guide 7.1 software. P-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. A total of 5,490 persons (915 persons with disabilities vs. 4,575 persons without disabilities, mean age 67.6 ± 10.36 years) were selected. Participants with disabilities has higher prevalence of hypertension (OR=1.34, 95% CI:1.15-1.56), diabetes (OR=1.51, 95% CI:1.28-1.79), heart disease (OR=1.49, 95% CI:1.18-1.87), cerebrovascular disease (OR=4.00, 95% CI:3.22-4.96), cancer (OR=3.83 , 95% CI: 2.66-5.52) and higher mortality risk of 1.97 times compared to the participants without disabilities (95%CI: 1.73-2.24). The health behaviors affecting the mortality risk of the persons with disabilities were smoking and body mass index. In the future, active health-care policies and education programs will be needed to prevent the risk of developing chronic diseases and premature death for persons with disabilities.