Today's baby boomers face more disabilities

November 14, 2009

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As the nation's baby boomers age, their health needs grow in volume and

complexity. The extent of those needs and their possible impact on the nation's

health care system are constantly being assessed by researchers. The latest:

aging baby boomers are more likely to have disabilities, according to a new

study by UCLA researchers.

The study, to be published in the American Journal of Public Health, examined

data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys for 1988-1994

and 1999 to 2004.

Researchers looked at three age groups 60-69, 70-79 and 80 and older, analyzing

such mobility issues as walking from room to room, getting out of bed and doing

chores around the house. They found increases in disabilities for all groups,

except for those 80 and up.

Disabilities among people in their 60s increased between 40 and 70 percent in

all the areas studied, regardless of socioeconomic status, health and weight.

Racial minorities and overweight people had even higher increases. Researchers

think the nation's changing demographics may have something to do with the

trend. Blacks and Hispanics, whose populations are expected to grow the most,

are more likely to be poor and obese -- factors that increase the risk of

disabilities, the study states.

" Increases in disability in that group are concerning because it's a big group, "

said a UCLA professor of medicine and the study's lead author. " We are

not sure why the disabilities are going up. But if this trend continues, it

could have a major impact on us, due to the resources that will have to be

devoted to those people. "

Those functional limitations and disabilities are likely to add to the nation's

health care costs and have important ramifications for proposals to reform the

health care delivery system, the authors write.

More study is needed on why disabilities are on the rise and how much the

increase could cost, researchers said.

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