Gender differential and regional disparity of disability-free life-expectancy among disable in India

In the wake of demographic and epidemiological transition, rising life expectancy and disability has become a global, national and regional phenomenon. Though estimates of life expectancy at birth are available at regular time intervals, there are limited studies on estimates of disability-free life expectancy by gender and regions in India. Study design Compares life expectancy of disabled and overall population by seven type of disability. Objective This study examines the gender differential and regional disparity of disability-free life expectancy (DFLE) and Life lived with disability (LWD) among disabled in India. Methods Data from Census of India, 2011 and abridged life table from Sample Registration System 2011 has been used. Disability-free life expectancy (DFLE) was estimated using Sullivan method. Life lived with disability was calculated for all major states included in the study by the types of disabilities. Results In 2011, the DFLE in India was 58.1 years for males and 60.78 years for females compared to life expectancy of 66.87 years for males and 70 years for females. On average, females in India had lived more years with disability than males. Similarly, the DFLE of rural areas was 58.6 compared to 62.3 in urban areas. The DFLE was 59.26 years movement, 58.88 for mental retardation and 58.81 for mental illness. The age pattern of DFLE decreases with increasing age for both males and females. The regional variation in DFLE is large. The DFLE of males in the state of Jammu and Kashmir was 62.4 compared to 56.4 in Assam. Similarly, for females, the DFLE was 61.8 years in Gujarat and 63.1 years in Tamil Nadu. Conclusion Though the overall life expectancy and DFLE were higher for females than for males, females lived with disability for more years than males. The DFLE was lowest for mental retardation followed by mental illness. The poorer states of India has lower DFLE compared to richer states.