The Impact of Diabetes on LTC Disability and Mortality: Population Estimates from the National Long Term Care Survey

Eric Stallard, Duke University

The purpose of this study was to estimate the impact of diabetes on expected lifetime years of Long Term Care (LTC) disability above age 65,using the 2004 National Long Term Care Survey (NLTCS) with LTC disability based on HIPAA policies, capability of performing activities of daily living and CI triggers, Diabetes was assessed using Medicare files linked to the NLTCS. Disabled life expectancy (DLE) with and without diabetes was computed via Sullivan’s (1971) method. A simulated intervention in diabetes-related disability was generated by recalculating the diabetic component of DLE using non-diabetic disability rates. Total DLE at age 65 was 1.45 years for males and 2.53 years for females with 0.57 and 0.83 years respectively for persons with diabetes. The latter values drop to 0.29 and 0.46 years respectively under the simulated intervention. Nearly half of the lifetime years of disability for diabetics was associated with the diabetes. Increasing secular trends in diabetes prevalence rates may slow or halt the decline in late-life DLE.