Social status and mortality with activity of daily living disability in later life.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to assess which social status factors predispose a person to dying with activity of daily living (ADL) disability in later life.


METHODS
We followed 243 deceased members of the Swiss Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study on the Oldest Old annually up to 8 years before their deaths. Using a multilevel regression, we analyzed age at death, gender, occupational category, and geographic area as potential factors predisposing a person to ending life with ADL disability.


RESULTS
Disability scores showed a substantial increase as death approached. Individuals from a lower occupational category were at higher risk of ADL disability and experienced a greater functional decline prior to death compared to those from higher occupational categories.


CONCLUSIONS
Consistent with the cumulative disadvantage theoretical framework, the health differential between the occupational categories seems to be exacerbated prior to death.
Guilley
Edith
E
Center for Interdisciplinary Gerontology (CIG), Route de Drize 7, Site de Battelle, 1227 Carouge, Geneva, Switzerland. edith.guilley@orange.fr
Lalive d'Epinay
Christian J
CJ
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003710:Demography; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D012923:Social Class