Health Disparities by Type of Disability: Health Examination Results of Adults (18-64 Years) with Disabilities in Shanghai, China

AIMS: There have been few studies on the disparities within the population with disabilities, especially in China. The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences in some health conditions among people with different types of disabilities in Shanghai. METHODS: This study was conducted using data from the Shanghai Disabled Persons’ Rehabilitation Comprehensive Information Platform. The records of 31,082 persons with disabilities who had undergone professional health examination were analyzed, and the prevalence and number of five diseases and five risk factors were examined. Logistic regression was used to explore disparities from two perspectives: 1) basic differences, unadjusted for other factors, and 2) differences after adjusting for key demographic covariates. A p-value < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Individuals with visual disability had a high rate of refractive error (60.0%), and averaged 1.75 diseases of interest, which was the highest value among all disability types. The mean number of risk factors we measured was greatest (1.96) in the population with mental disability. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) between the hearing and speech impairment group and the other groups with respect to most health outcomes, except chronic pharyngitis, hepatic cysts, and high blood pressure. CONCLUSION: Significant differences of selected health outcomes between groups with different types of disabilities remained after controlling for key demographic indicators. Further research is needed to explore the relationships between health conditions and disability types.