How Age Influences the Demand for Health Care in Latin America
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(77 percent) according to the SABE survey live with disease, and a considerable proportion of this population (44 percent) has comorbidities. Nineteen percent of the population claim to have disabilities, and a larger proportion of the aging lives with the combined effects of disability and disease (17 percent) and disability and comorbidity (12 percent). This indicates that disability in old age is mostly a consequence of chronic diseases and comorbidities, and the prevention of risk factors that lead to chronic conditions could reduce the burden of disability in the aging, resulting in increased quality of life and reduced health expenditures along the aging process. Some governmental agencies, such as the CDC, argue, based on research reviews, that health promotion activities, such as education and counseling interventions, could improve preventive health behaviors among the aging. Although these studies focused on prevention in healthy people, there is an increasing consensus that behavioral techniques such as self-monitoring, personal communication with health care providers, and viewing audiovisual materials contribute to successful change in behaviors such as quitting smoking, controlling alcohol consumption, improving nutrition, and weight control. The SABE survey also shows that seven diseases and chronic conditions disproportionately affect the health status of the population aged
Figure 4.9 Health Status of Population Aged 60 and Older in Seven LAC Cities according to the SABE Survey, 1999–2000 disability and comorbidity
11.9
disability and disease
16.6
any disability
18.8
good health
20.7
comorbidity
43.7
any disease
77.1 0
20
40 60 80 percentage of population
100
Source: SABE Survey on Health, Well-being, and Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean 1999–2000.