title: Disability in Singapore's Elderly Population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Disability increases an individual's dependence and negatively impacts their physical, mental, and social functioning. The current study aims to establish the prevalence and risk factors of disability in Singapore's population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data was extracted from the Well-being of the Singapore Elderly (WiSE) study. This cross-sectional study recruited participants aged 60 years and above (n = 2421) who were representative of Singapore's multiethnic population. We used the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) 2.0 to assess the severity of disability in our sample while establishing its associations and correlations with cognitive levels, sociodemographic variables, and chronic illness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cognitive deficits, old age, female gender, Malay and Indian ethnicity, lack of education, retired or homemaker status, presence of chronic illness (specifically stroke, heart problems, depression, and dementia) were found to be significantly associated with disability in Singapore's elderly population. As hypothesised, participants with deficits in cognition were more likely to indicate higher WHODAS scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings highlighted specific factors associated with disability in this multiethnic population. The identification of these factors would lead the way to the development of appropriate interventions.
authors: Research Division, Institute of Mental Health, Singapore.
authors: Mithila
authors: M
authors: Mahesh
authors: Edimansyah
authors: E
authors: Abdin
authors: Janhavi Ajit
authors: JA
authors: Vaingankar
authors: Louisa
authors: L
authors: Picco
authors: Anita
authors: A
authors: Jeyagurunathan
authors: Saleha Binte
authors: SB
authors: Shafie
authors: Shirlene
authors: S
authors: Pang
authors: Vathsala
authors: V
authors: Sagayadevan
authors: Esmond
authors: E
authors: Seow
authors: Siow Ann
authors: SA
authors: Chong
authors: Mythily
authors: M
authors: Subramaniam
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003704:Dementia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D004522:Educational Status; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008290:Malassezia; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D012179:Retirement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology*