Gender differences in reported physical disability among older adults in three underprivileged communities in the suburbs of Beirut

Introduction: The past century has witnessed a demographic transition characterized by a rapid ageing process. Projections for the year 2050 show that older adults would constitute 21% of the global population, the majority being in developing countries. In Lebanon, a middle-income country in the Middle-East, older adults are expected to reach 25% of its total population. Methodology: We compared 740 women and men aged ≥60 years on their activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and physical tasks (PT), with the aim of looking at gender differences. Analysis of covariance adjusting for possible predictors was conducted in a staged fashion to examine their role in explaining gender differences. Results: Findings showed consistent female disadvantage in all three self–reported measures of disability. Women were less likely than men to use assistive devices and receive personal support. Gender differences in performing ADL and PT were mainly explained by differences in health conditions (OR=1.42; 95%CI=0.91–2.23 and OR=1.14; 95%CI=0.77–1.69, respectively). However, the odds of reporting difficulty in IADL remained higher for women even after adjusting for other covariates (OR=3.39; 95%CI=1.67–6.89). Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that ADL and PT were gender neutral whereas IADL was sensitive to gender roles. Quality of life and availability of health care services should be assessed with an emphasis on aging women due to their greater disability compared with men. Early identification of this population with probable disabling conditions is a way to reduce the progressive functional decline and promote successful aging.