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Differences in disability among older women and men in Egypt and Tunisia

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Demography

Abstract

Research on child survival and health has indicated disparities between boys and girls in selected Middle Eastern countries. Health disparities in later life are understudied in this region. In this article, we examine differences between women and men in later-life activity limitation in Egypt and Tunisia. Difficulty executing physical tasks is more common for women than for men in both study sites, although differences are smaller after adjustment for underlying illness. Differences in the difficulty of executing physical tasks also are sensitive to environmental controls in variable ways across the study sites. The findings caution against the sole use of reported disability in comparative studies of gender and aging.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of International Health and Sociology, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road NE, Room 724, 30322, Atlanta, GA

    Kathryn M. Yount

  2. Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, USA

    Emily M. Agree

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  1. Kathryn M. Yount
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  2. Emily M. Agree
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Additional information

The research was supported by Grant URC 00-01 YOUNT from the University Research Committee of Emory University. The comments of anonymous reviewers on an earlier version of this article are greatly appreciated, as is assistance from Maria Sullivan in the preparation of the manuscript.

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Yount, K.M., Agree, E.M. Differences in disability among older women and men in Egypt and Tunisia. Demography 42, 169–187 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.2005.0009

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