Causes of physical disability among adults in Guangdong province and some countermeasures / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To analyze the main causes of physical disability in adults in Guangdong province in China, and to provide prevention and treatment strategies. Methods Data on Guangdong from China's Second Na-tional Sample Survey on disability in 2006 were carefully collected. Physical disability was categorized according to different causes. In each category or group, multiple factors including the severity, distribution in urban or rural are-as, and the age of onset were analyzed with appropriate statistical methods. Prevention and treatment were then for-mulated based on the data. Results The severity of disability, distribution in rural and urban areas, and the age of onset were significantly different in different groups. The main cause was cerebral vascular diseases (16.7%). The incidence of physical disability was much higher in rural areas than that in urban areas (31.8% vs 68.2% ) except for brain trauma and toxication. The main cause for physical disability among young and middle-aged people was poly-myelitis (17.1% and 14.8% respectively) ; in old people it was osteoarthrosis (35.7%). Conclusions In order to lower the incidence of physical disability and to alleviate its severity, more work should be done in the prevention and treatment of cerebral vascular disease, spinal injury, cerebral palsy, polymyelitis and osteoarthrosis. In addition more financial and technical support is needed in rural areas.