Dataset Information

Do disability, parenthood, and gender matter for health disparities?: A US population-based study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Existing research has documented adverse health outcomes among parents with disabilities relative to parents without disabilities, but little is known about whether parenthood adds unique stress and health consequences for people with disabilities. Less is known about whether the effects of parenthood differ between mothers and fathers with disabilities.

Objectives

This paper examined health-related quality of life, obesity, and health behaviors between US parents and nonparents with and without disabilities. We also explored differences in health outcomes separately for men and women by one's parental and disability status.

Methods

An analytic sample of parents and nonparents aged 18-64, with and without disabilities, were derived from the 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (9,117 parents and 33,961 nonparents with disabilities). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied, controlling for individuals' socio-demographic characteristics and their history of chronic conditions.

Results

Parents with disabilities, compared to parents without disabilities and nonparents with and without disabilities, were at higher risk of reporting frequent physical distress, obesity, smoking, and insufficient sleep. Among those with disabilities, fathers were more likely than nonfathers to report poor or fair health, frequent physical and mental distress, and obesity; these differences were not evident between mothers and nonmothers with disabilities.

Conclusions

The findings suggest the urgent need for policies and programs to address the health-related needs of parents with disabilities, as well as the need for targeted programs to support fathers with disabilities.

SUBMITTER: Namkung EH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9377812 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Do disability, parenthood, and gender matter for health disparities?: A US population-based study.

Namkung Eun Ha EH Mitra Monika M Nicholson Joanne J

Disability and health journal 20190615 4

<h4>Background</h4>Existing research has documented adverse health outcomes among parents with disabilities relative to parents without disabilities, but little is known about whether parenthood adds unique stress and health consequences for people with disabilities. Less is known about whether the effects of parenthood differ between mothers and fathers with disabilities.<h4>Objectives</h4>This paper examined health-related quality of life, obesity, and health behaviors between US parents and n ...[more]

PMID: 31231021

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Project description:BackgroundUnderstanding how disability progresses with ageing is important for shaping policies aimed at improving older adults' quality of life, especially when considering the global trends in ageing, life expectancy (LE), and gender disparity. We aimed to assess the health transition probabilities of daily living activities and their implications on LE and gender gaps in global middle-aged and elderly populations.MethodsIn this multi-cohort study with a sample of 74 101 individuals aged ≥50 years, we analysed data from six international cohorts: the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in the USA, the Mexican Longitudinal Study of Ageing (MHAS), the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA), and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). We estimated probabilities between robust health; disabilities related to instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and basic activities of daily living (BADL); and mortality through multi-state Markov models. We included gender as a covariate in the models to calculate hazard ratios (HRs), while we calculated LE within the distinct health states of robust health, IADL disabilities, BADL disabilities, and mortality using the stochastic population analysis for complex events (SPACE) microsimulation.ResultsWomen had higher progressions to disability (IADL: HR = 1.392; BADL: HR = 1.356) compared to men, who conversely showed lesser progression from IADL to BADL disability (HR = 0.856) and lower mortality rates (span of HRs = 0.232-0.692). LE at age 50 favoured women (32.16-38.22 years) over men (28.99-33.58 years), yet they spent more time in states of disability. We otherwise observed significant regional and gender disparities in healthy LE.ConclusionsWe identified ageing patterns in which longer lives are often coupled with extended periods of disability. Pronounced gender and regional differences indicate a need for targeted health interventions to address inequities and improve seniors' quality of life. Our findings highlight the necessity for policy interventions focussed on health equity to more completely respond to the demographic shift towards older populations.

Dataset Information

Do disability, parenthood, and gender matter for health disparities?: A US population-based study.

Background

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Do disability, parenthood, and gender matter for health disparities?: A US population-based study.

Similar Datasets

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