RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence and the independent socio-economic factors with respect to the dependence status of the Thai elderly population living in the central region and to calculate the active life expectancy (ALE) based on the results of this survey and abridged life tables for Thailand. DESIGN: A cross-sectional mulitistage random sampling survey. SETTING: Communities in the central region, Thailand. SUBJECTS: 723 elderly subjects. RESULTS: Mean age and its standard deviation (SD) of the 723 recruited subjects were 69.9 and 7.3 years, respectively. Forty three per cent of the subjects were men. Mean values (SD) of the BAI score and the CAI score were 18.78 (2.6) and 6.47 (2.4), respectively. Except for housework, elderly women had a higher prevalence rate of dependence on activities of daily living (ADL) compared with elderly men. Seven univariate factors of the BAI and the CAI were demonstrated. According to the multiple linear regression analysis by entering all univariate factors of the BAI and the CAI except "working status", independent factors of both the BAI (adjusted R2 = 0.051) and the CAI (adjusted R2 = 0.146) were age, sex and writing ability. The prevalence rate (95% confidence interval) of dependence regarding self-care activities of daily living was 5.9 per cent (4.2-7.6%). The rate of dependence increased with age. The female elderly were more dependent on self care than their male counterparts. Although the elderly women live longer than the elderly men, they spend more years in a severely dependent state. Findings on ratios between health and life expectancy demonstrate that Thai men spend more proportional time leading a healthy life than Thai women. CONCLUSION: Prevalence rates of dependence regarding activities of daily living among the Thai elderly living in the Central region were rather high showing the health of elderly women to be worse than that of elderly men. The elderly women spend more years in a severely dependent state although they live longer than the elderly men.