Abstract
BackgroundRepresentative national data on disability are becoming increasingly important in helping policymakers decide on public health strategies. We assessed the respective contribution of chronic health conditions to disability for three age groups (18–40, 40–65, and >65 years old) using data from the 2008–2009 Disability-Health Survey in France.MethodsData on 12 chronic conditions and on disability for 24,682 adults living in households were extracted from the Disability-Health Survey results. A weighting factor was applied to obtain representative estimates for the French population. Disability was defined as at least one restriction in activities of daily living (ADL), severe disability as the inability to perform at least one ADL alone, and self-reported disability as a general feeling of being disabled. To account for co-morbidities, we assessed the contribution of each chronic disorder to disability by using the average attributable fraction (AAF).FindingsWe estimated that 38.8 million people in France (81.7% [95% CI 80.9;82.6]) had a chronic condition: 14.3% (14.0;14.6) considered themselves disabled, 4.6% (4.4;4.9) were restricted in ADL and 1.7% (1.5;1.8) were severely disabled. Musculoskeletal and sensorial impairments contributed the most to self-reported disability (AAF 15.4% and 12.3%). Neurological and musculoskeletal diseases had the largest impact on disability (AAF 17.4% and 16.4%, respectively). Neurological disorders contributed the most to severe disability (AAF 31.0%). Psychiatric diseases contributed the most to disability categories for patients 18–40 years old (AAFs 23.8%–40.3%). Cardiovascular conditions were also among the top four contributors to disability categories (AAFs 8.5%–11.1%).ConclusionsNeurological, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular chronic disorders mainly contribute to disability in France. Psychiatric impairments have a heavy burden for people 18–40 years old. These findings should help policymakers define priorities for health-service delivery in France and perhaps other developed countries.
Highlights
Disability is fast becoming a concern because of its increasing prevalence owing to the aging of the population, the increased risk of disability in older people, and the global increase in chronic conditions [1]
Neurological, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular chronic disorders mainly contribute to disability in France
We reported the prevalence of diseases, summarized socio-demographic characteristics and described disabilities by frequencies, means and their 95% confidence intervals corrected with the sampling weight
Summary
Disability is fast becoming a concern because of its increasing prevalence owing to the aging of the population, the increased risk of disability in older people, and the global increase in chronic conditions [1]. Several authors compared the contribution of different disorders to disability [3,4,5,6] to help policymakers decide on intervention and preventive strategies. The studies vary in terms of groups studied, diseases and approaches used to define and measure disability. These data often concern co-morbid situations, so a reliable estimate of the respective weight of diseases in global disability is difficult. This situation is true for studies in developed countries and involving elderly people. Representative national data on disability are becoming increasingly important in helping policymakers decide on public health strategies. We assessed the respective contribution of chronic health conditions to disability for three age groups (18–40, 40–65, and .65 years old) using data from the 2008–2009 Disability-Health Survey in France
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