Products - Data Briefs - Number 20 - July 2009

NCHS Data Brief
Number 20, July 2009
Aging Differently: Physical Limitations Among Adults Aged 50 years and Over: United States, 2001–2007
by Julia Holmes, Ph.D.; Eve Powell-Griner, Ph.D.; Margaret Lethbridge-Cejku, Ph.D.;
and Kathleen Heyman, M.S.



Key findings
Data from the National Health Interview Survey

The prevalence of physical limitations increases with age, as does the number of physical limitations among adults aged 50 years and over.
Non-Hispanic black adults aged 50 years and over have higher rates of physical limitations than non-Hispanic white adults in each age group
Non-Hispanic black adults generally have rates of physical limitations similar to non-Hispanic white adults a decade older.
In each race group, women are more likely than men of the same age to have one or more physical limitations, and the gap widens with increasing age.
Adults aged 50 years and over with less than a high school education have higher rates of physical limitations than their counterparts with at least a high school diploma.
Many adults experience increases in physical limitations with age. A physical limitation, as defined here, refers to having difficulty performing any of eight physical activities, (see “Definition”). Physical limitation is important because of its relationship with the ability to live independently and to overall quality of life (1). Recent studies show that in the United States the onset of physical limitations occurs later in today’s older population than in earlier cohorts of the elderly (2,3). This “compression of morbidity” (4,5) means that on average older adults are living longer without experiencing a significant loss of independence in performing a wide range of activities. However, not all Americans have shared equally in this compression of morbidity; less advantaged groups such as minorities and the poor are more likely to report limitations in physical functioning at earlier ages than their more advantaged counterparts (6).

Keywords: aging, physical limitations, functional limitations, National Health Interview Survey

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Products - Data Briefs - Number 20 - July 2009