Gender health disparities among a nationally representative population sample of aging adults in India in 2017-2018

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the gender health disparity in aging community-dwelling adults in India in 2017-2018. The cross-sectional national  sample included 52,393 individuals (≥50 years) from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) Wave 1 in 2017-2018, 53.3% were female and  46.7% male. In the final adjusted logistic regression analyses, women had poorer self-rated health, poorer cognitive functioning, insomnia symptoms,  and higher functional disability than men. Current smoking, current smokeless tobacco use, and heavy episodic drinking was more frequent in men than  in women, and physical inactivity, general overweight/obesity, abdominal obesity, injury, and recurrent fall were more common in women than in men.  Regarding chronic diseases, hypertension, angina, cancer, bone or joint diseases, persistent headaches, back pain or problems, physical pain, periodontal  disease, impaired vision, and stress incontinence were more prevalent in women than in men, while the prevalence of stroke was higher in  men than in women. Among the 36 health indicators evaluated, 20 had a female health disadvantage, 4 had a male health disadvantage, and 12 did not  differ between the female-male groups .