Background and problems in constructing disability prevention guidelines

Abstract

Aim: This study aims to describe the factors that must be considered for the construction of guidelines to prevent disability of the elderly.
Method: All community-dwelling residents aged 65 and over and without functional decline (n=1, 560) were assessed in 1996 and were followed annually until 2002. The prevalence and incidence of low to severe disability, and their association with chronic conditions present at the commencement of the study, was analyzed.
Result: An increase of mild functional decline was more prevalent than severe functional decline. The accumulation of mild disability was more prominent in women. The major chronic conditions associated with mild disability were chronic arthritis and diabetes in women, and cerebrovascular accident and malignancy in men.
Conclusions: The process of functional decline, gender and the endpoint outcome level must be taken into account on the development of preventive guideline for elderly disability.