Chronic Conditions, Disability and Healthy Ageing

Population ageing and epidemiological transition are considered the outcome of demographic transition. The epidemiological transition is characterized by increasing prevalence of chronic conditions. Chronic conditions put older persons at increased risk of disability. Chronic conditions exacerbate frailty, in turn functional limitation. Alternatively age related frailty may also lead to occurrence of multiple chronic ailments, which may produce disability. Disability, albeit highly contested concept, in terms of impairments in physical strength and everyday self-maintenance tasks has received little attention of the researchers in Pakistan. The present study was an attempt to ascertain self-reported prevalence of chronic health conditions and disability (in terms of impairments in physical strength and ADL/IADL competencies) among the individuals aged 50 years and above in urban Lahore. In so doing, the major focus was to analyze whether or not self-management of chronic condition(s) has significant effect on the healthy ageing of the study population.