- Their disabilities will be sufficiently severe to affect their day-to-day activities
- Women are thought to be more affected as they typically live to an older age
- Disparities cause one in 10 to suffer in Sweden versus one in three in Slovakia
- Experts say infrastructure needs adapting to accommodate growing demands
- Medical professionals also need training to treat an elderly, disabled population
One in four women and one in six men aged 65 and over will be physically disabled by 2047, new research reveals.
Their disabilities will be sufficiently severe to affect their day-to-day activities, a study found.
Increasing life expectancies throughout Europe, particularly among women, are thought to be behind the projected handicaps, the research adds.
The findings also reveal regional disparities, with one in 10 women suffering severe restrictions from disabilities in Sweden versus one in three in Slovakia, the study found.
Researchers from the Wittgenstein Centre International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria, wrote: ‘[This] might require several measures to accommodate the needs of an increasing number of people with activity limitations such as expanding infrastructure for disabled people in the public as well as private sectors, training of medical specialists and care professionals.’
One in four women and one in six men aged over 65 will be physically disabled by 2047 (stock)
How the research was carried out
The researchers analysed data from 26 high and middle-income European countries collected annually between 2008 and 2014.
They also investigated sex-specific life expectancy projections from 2015 to 2050, which were calculated by the UN.
The survey involved questions on long-term health problems that restrict daily activities. The responses of those aged between 55 and 85 were most heavily weighted.
Women suffer more due to living longer
Results reveal around one in four women and one in six men aged 65 and over will have a long-term health issue that restricts their daily activities by 2047.
Women are expected to suffer more severe daily limitations due to their projected disabilities as they tend to live longer.
The findings also revealed substantial variations between regions, with around one in 10 Swedish women over the age of 65 reporting severe disasbility-related restriction in their daily lives versus one in three in Slovakia.
The researchers wrote: ‘[This] might require several measures to accommodate the needs of an increasing number of people with activity limitations such as expanding infrastructure for disabled people in the public as well as private sectors, training of medical specialists and care professionals.’
The findings were published in the journal BMJ Open.