Prevalence of Disability in Elderly Males

Abstract

Disability has been one of the major concerns facing geriatricians. Recent trends are currently directed towards clinical tests rather than self-reported measures for assessment of disability. There has been no reports measuring accurately the prevalence of disability among elderly Egyptians. Our study was directed to fulfill this aim, where 150 elderly males were recruited for the study carrying out the SPPB test and hand grip strength test. Results showed that the prevalence of disability is 49.3% by the SPPB and 66% by hand grip strength test, where the definition of disability in each was based on ADL score. Prevalence of disability was studied in relation to various risk factors for disability. Significant positive correlation was found between disability and age, obesity, comorbidities and smoking. The results also showed that risk of disability increases with malnutrition, depression and cognitive impairment.