Impact of Functional Difficulty on Mortality among Older Filipinos

Grace Cruz, University of the Philippines Population Institute
Christian Joy Cruz, University of the Philippines Population Institute
Yasuhiko Saito, Nihon University

Utilizing data from the Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP), the first nationally representative panel survey on older Filipinos, this paper aims to shed light on the functional abilities of older Filipinos, their severity, transition rates over time and its impact on mortality rates. Over a fifth of older Filipinos have difficulty performing at least one of the seven ADLs, more prevalent among women, older cohorts, those with lower education, and those who were diagnosed by a doctor with at least one of 13 illnesses. Smoking, drinking, and exercise are associated with higher functional difficulty. Those who have functional difficulties may tend to adopt better health behavior. Having ADL difficulty at baseline diminishes survival, regardless of their baseline condition. About 40% of those with functional difficulty at baseline died as compared to 14% among those with no functional difficulty. The same pattern holds regardless of background characteristics. While more females than males are more likely to experience functional difficulty, males are more likely to die than females, regardless of their initial functional status. Further analysis is expected to demonstrate higher mortality rates among those with initial health state even after controlling for selected background variables.

Keywords: Health and Morbidity, Longitudinal studies , Population Ageing

See extended abstract.