Disabled life expectancy among older Colombian men and women

by Margarita Osuna, Mateo Farina, Jennifer Ailshire

Colombia’s population is rapidly aging and older adults are living longer, however, we have limited information on the level of disability and number of years older Colombians spend with disability. We estimated age-and-gender specific ADL, IADL and mobility disability prevalence and disabled life expectancy (DLE) and to examined gender differences. Life tables came from the Colombian vital statistics and disability prevalence data came from the cross-sectional 2015 Colombia National Survey of Health, Well-being, and Aging. Disabled life expectancy (DLE) was calculated using Sullivan’s method. About one-third to one-half of remaining years will be spent with IADL or mobility disability. The remaining years of life spent with ADL was relatively low at younger ages, but by age 85, about half of remaining life will be spent with disability. Compared to men, women had higher levels of disability and are estimated to spend more years with disability. Gender differences in ADL did not emerge until ages 70 and older. Older Colombians, in particularly women, are estimated to live a significant proportion of their life with disability, particularly IADL and mobility disability. High levels of disability are concerning because the country lacks adequate infrastructure and has limited options for long term care.