To estimate the prevalence and identify the determinants of assistive device usage in daily life among older adults in India.

Cross-sectional analysis of nationally representative survey data.

India

A total of 66 316 adults aged ≥45 years with complete information on assistive device use from Wave 1 of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, 2017–2018.

The primary outcome was self-reported use of any assistive device, including visual, hearing, mobility or other assistive devices. There were no predefined secondary outcome measures. Sociodemographic and health-related variables were analysed as covariates to assess factors associated with assistive device use.

The prevalence of assistive device use was 38.61% (95% CI: 37.73% to 39.50%). Use increased with age, from 34.48% among adults aged 45–59 years to 52.07% among those aged ≥75 years (adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) 1.30; 95% CI: 1.25 to 1.35). Prevalence was higher among men (40.94%) than women (37.51%) (aPR 1.06; 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.09), among individuals with education above primary level (54.28%) compared with those with up to primary education (28.35%) (aPR 1.42; 95% CI: 1.36 to 1.48), and among urban residents (53.88%) vs rural residents (31.16%) (aPR 1.18; 95% CI: 1.14 to 1.22). A clear socioeconomic gradient was observed, with prevalence increasing from 27.65% in the poorest to 50.66% in the richest wealth quintile (aPR 1.32; 95% CI: 1.25 to 1.39). Assistive device use was higher among participants with chronic conditions (47.30%) than those without (28.16%) (aPR 1.15; 95% CI: 1.11 to 1.19) and was markedly higher among those with a prior eye or vision diagnosis (64.93%) compared with those without (14.61%) (aPR 3.94; 95% CI: 3.78 to 4.11). Among users, spectacles or contact lenses were most common (89.26%), followed by walking sticks or walkers (11.62%) and dentures (6.15%). State-level prevalence varied widely, ranging from 71.27% in Goa to 13.44% in Arunachal Pradesh.

Assistive device use was reported by less than half of Indian adults aged ≥45 years. The findings reveal clear socioeconomic and geographic inequities in access to assistive devices, with substantially lower use among older adults with less education, those in poorer wealth quintiles and rural residents. These disparities highlight the need for equity-focused interventions that improve accessibility to assistive devices, particularly for socially and economically disadvantaged groups and individuals with chronic conditions.