Cross-Country Differences in the Additive Effects of Socioeconomics, Health Behaviors and Medical Comorbidities on Disability among Older Adults with Heart Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with heart disease experience limited activities of daily living (ADL). This is a cross-country comparison of the additive effects of Socioeconomics, health behaviors, and the number of medical comorbidities on disability among patients with heart disease. METHODS: The current study used a cross-sectional design. Data came from the Research on Early Life and Aging Trends and Effects (RELATE). The current analysis utilized data on elderly individuals (age ≥60 y) from 13 countries. The outcome was any ADL limitation (i.e. bathing, dressing, using toilet, transferring, lifting heavy things, shopping, and eating meals). Socioeconomics (i.e. age, gender, education, and income), health behaviors (i.e. exercise, smoking, and drinking), and number of chronic medical conditions (i.e. hypertension, respiratory, arthritis, stroke, and diabetes) were entered into country-specific logistic regressions, considering at least one limitation in ADL as the main outcome. RESULTS: Number of comorbid medical conditions and age were positively associated with disability in 85% of the countries. Physical activity and drinking were linked to disability in 54%and 31% of countries, respectively. Higher education and income were associated with lower disability in 31% and 23% of the countries, respectively. Female gender was associated with higher disability only in 15% of the countries. Smoking was not associated with disability, while the effects of socioeconomics, drinking, exercise, and medical comorbidities were controlled. CONCLUSION: Determinants of disability depend on the country; accordingly, locally designed health promotion interventions may be superior to the universal interventions for patients with heart disease. Medical comorbidities, however, should be universally diagnosed and treated.