Demographic, social, and economic characteristics among the disabled and non-disabled elderly in Puerto Rico, 2007

Introduction: Very few studies had taken into account the Puerto Rico's disabled older population, specifically the differences between the disabled and non-disabled elderly. Having a disability and being an elder could place them in a greater risk of living in more difficult conditions, compared to the elderly without a disability. Methodology: The analysis realized was descriptive, including crosstabulations and descriptive statistics. The studied population is the 60 years and over persons living in households in Puerto Rico in 2007, using the 2007 Puerto Rico Community Survey Sample. Results: It was found that approximately three-fifths of the 60 years and over people living in households have a disability. With regard to demographic characteristics, as the age increased, the percent of elders with disability increased. Also, there is a greater percent of female with disability than male with disability. As for social characteristics, there is a greater percent of elders with disability, who do not have a partner (who are widowed, separated, and never married) and with no schooling than their counterparts. With regard to the economic characteristics, there is a greater percent of disabled elders living below the poverty level, out of the labor force, and with lower income than their counterparts. Besides, for every type of disability (difficulty dressing, working, remembering, and going out and physical and vision or hearing difficulty), as the age increased, the percent of elderly who reported having disability increased.