Frail elderly people have a spectrum of needs

The funding of long term care for elderly people is a highly charged political issue. On p 1108 Melzer et al provide estimates of the composition of the disabled elderly population from the Medical Research Council's cognitive function and ageing study. Within study definitions, 11% of men and 19% of women aged 65 years and over were disabled, totalling an estimated 1.3 million people in England and Wales in 1996. Cognitive impairment was present in 38% of the group. Over a third of people with limitations to activities of daily living who lived in private households were wholly or partly dependent on community services for help. Most disabled elderly people used acute hospitals during a 2 year follow up, underlining the need for better integration between acute and long term care.

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Profile of disability in elderly people: estimates from a longitudinal population study
BMJ 1999 318: 1108-1111. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]