Table 1
Overview of disability status groups.
| DISABILITY STATUS GROUP | 2016 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Never: | No Disability | No Disability |
| Consistent: | Disability | Disability |
| Emerging (changing): | No Disability | Disability |
| Declining (changing): | Disability | No Disability |
Table 2
Descriptive statistics.
| VARIABLE | N | PERCENTAGE |
|---|---|---|
| Disability status changes for the WG-SS, 2016–2020 | ||
| Never (no → no) | 8,767 | 82.8 |
| Changing: Declining (yes → no) | 561 | 5.2 |
| Changing: Emerging (no → yes) | 714 | 6.7 |
| Consistent (yes → yes) | 553 | 5.2 |
| Disability status changes for GALI, 2016–2020 | ||
| Never (no → no) | 9,625 | 91.0 |
| Changing: Declining (yes → no) | 366 | 3.5 |
| Changing: Emerging (no → yes) | 421 | 4.0 |
| Consistent (yes → yes) | 165 | 1.6 |
| Female | 5,956 | 56.3 |
| Age in 2020 (years) | ||
| 20–24 | 675 | 6.4 |
| 25–34 | 1,232 | 11.6 |
| 35–44 | 1,710 | 16.2 |
| 45–54 | 3,083 | 29.1 |
| 55–64 | 3,886 | 36.7 |
| Danish-born | 10,040 | 94.8 |
| Immigrants (first and second generation) | 546 | 5.2 |
| Self-reported health status change in the last 3 years | ||
| Better | 1,623 | 15.3 |
| Same | 6,269 | 59.3 |
| Worse | 2,685 | 25.4 |
| Registry-based health status change | ||
| No disability-related hospital contacts, 2017–2020 | 9,284 | 87.7 |
| Disability-related hospital contact(s), 2017–2020 | 1,302 | 12.3 |
| Participation restrictions, 2017–2020 | ||
| Restricted (employed or in education <2 years) | 1,135 | 10.7 |
| Not restricted (employed or in education ≥2 years) | 9,451 | 89.3 |
| Activity limitation (Experienced limitations in access to buildings) | ||
| Both 2016 and 2020 | 247 | 2.3 |
| Only 2016 | 604 | 5.7 |
| Only 2020 | 598 | 5.7 |
| Neither year | 9,112 | 86.3 |
[i] Note: 10,586 individual respondents in total. The number of respondents is lower for some of the variables.
Table 3
Descriptive results, WG-SS, by disability status group.
| VARIABLE | NEVER | DECLINING | EMERGING | CONSISTENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 55.4 | 61.7 | 61.2 | 57.3 |
| Ref. | ** | ** | Ns. | |
| Age (years) | ||||
| 20–34 | 18.8 | 16.9 | 14.7 | 10.8 |
| 35–44 | 16.8 | 13.2 | 11.8 | 14.5 |
| 45–54 | 29.1 | 28.5 | 29.4 | 29.5 |
| 55–64 | 35.3 | 41.4 | 44.1 | 45.2 |
| Ref. | * | *** | *** | |
| Origin | ||||
| Danish born | 95.2 | 94.9 | 93.0 | 91.0 |
| Immigrants, descendants | 4.8 | 5.1 | 7.0 | 9.0 |
| Ref. | Ns. | ** | *** | |
| Participation restriction | ||||
| Restricted | 8.0 | 20.9 | 18.1 | 34.9 |
| Not restricted | 92.0 | 79.1 | 81.9 | 65.1 |
| Ref. | *** | *** | *** | |
| Self-reported health status change | ||||
| Better | 15.6 | 19.8 | 11.1 | 12.1 |
| Same | 63.3 | 44.7 | 40.2 | 34.4 |
| Worse | 21.1 | 35.5 | 48.7 | 53.5 |
| Ref. | *** | *** | *** | |
| Registry-based health | ||||
| No contact | 91.2 | 76.0 | 74.1 | 62.0 |
| At least one contact | 8.8 | 24.0 | 25.9 | 38.0 |
| Ref. | *** | *** | *** | |
| Activity limitation | ||||
| Both years | 1.3 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 15.9 |
| 2016 only | 5.3 | 8.2 | 6.3 | 9.2 |
| 2020 only | 4.6 | 6.6 | 13.0 | 11.9 |
| Never | 88.8 | 81.8 | 76.6 | 62.9 |
| Ref. | *** | *** | *** | |
| Observations | 8,767 | 551 | 714 | 553 |
[i] Note: 10.585 individual respondents in total. The number of respondents is lower for some of the variables. The significance tests relate to the difference between the reference group (Never) and respectively ‘declining,’ ‘emerging’ and ‘consistent.’ *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.
Table 4
Descriptive results, GALI, by disability status group.
| VARIABLE | NEVER | DECLINING | EMERGING | CONSISTENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 55.9 | 60.1 | 62.2 | 53.9 |
| Ref. | Ns. | * | Ns. | |
| Age (years) | ||||
| 20–34 | 18.4 | 15.3 | 14.3 | 9.1 |
| 35–44 | 16.2 | 13.7 | 17.1 | 19.4 |
| 45–54 | 28.9 | 34.4 | 29.2 | 29.7 |
| 55–64 | 36.5 | 36.6 | 39.4 | 41.8 |
| Ref. | Ns. | Ns. | * | |
| Origin | ||||
| Danish born | 94.8 | 95.9 | 95.7 | 92.7 |
| Immigrants and descendants | 5.2 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 7.3 |
| Ref. | . | . | . | |
| Participation restriction | ||||
| Restricted | 8.9 | 26.2 | 21.4 | 55.8 |
| Not restricted | 91.1 | 73.8 | 78.6 | 44.2 |
| Ref. | *** | *** | *** | |
| Self-reported health status change | ||||
| Better | 15.3 | 29.0 | 8.1 | 9.1 |
| Same | 62.3 | 38.9 | 22.6 | 22.4 |
| Worse | 22.5 | 32.1 | 69.4 | 68.5 |
| Ref. | *** | *** | *** | |
| Registry based health | ||||
| No contact | 89.6 | 74.3 | 68.4 | 54.5 |
| At least one contact | 10.4 | 25.7 | 31.6 | 45.5 |
| Ref. | *** | *** | *** | |
| Activity limitation | ||||
| Both years | 1.6 | 7.7 | 5.9 | 26.7 |
| 2016 only | 5.4 | 9.9 | 7.8 | 9.7 |
| 2020 only | 5.0 | 7.9 | 13.3 | 18.2 |
| Never | 88.0 | 74.5 | 72.9 | 45.5 |
| Ref. | *** | *** | *** | |
| Observations | 9,625 | 366 | 421 | 165 |
[i] Note: 10.577 individual respondents in total. The number of respondents is lower for some of the variables. The significance tests relate to the difference between the reference group (Never) and respectively ‘declining,’ ‘emerging’ and ‘consistent.’ *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.
Table 5
Regression results—association between emerging disability and changes in registry-based or self-reported health, participation and activity limitations.
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WG-SS—EMERGING VS. NEVER | GALI—EMERGING VS. NEVER | WG-SS—EMERGING VS. NEVER | GALI—EMERGING VS. NEVER | |
| Registry-based health status | ||||
| No disability-related contact (ref.) | . | . | . | . |
| At least one contact | 0.12*** (0.01) | 0.08*** (0.01) | . | . |
| Self-reported health status | ||||
| Better | . | . | 0.01 (0.01) | 0.01 (0.00) |
| Same (ref.) | . | . | . | . |
| Worse | . | . | 0.10*** (0.01) | 0.10*** (0.01) |
| Participation | ||||
| Restricted | 0.07*** (0.01) | 0.05*** (0.01) | 0.07*** (0.01) | 0.05*** (0.01) |
| Not restricted (ref.) | . | . | . | . |
| Activity limitation in 2016 or 2020 | ||||
| Both years | 0.12*** (0.03) | 0.09*** (0.03) | 0.12*** (0.03) | 0.08*** (0.02) |
| 2016 only | 0.02 (0.01) | 0.02* (0.01) | 0.02 (0.01) | 0.02 (0.01) |
| 2020 only | 0.11*** (0.02) | 0.06*** (0.01) | 0.10*** (0.02) | 0.06*** (0.01) |
| Neither year (ref.) | . | . | . | . |
| Observations | 9,446 | 10,010 | 9,438 | 10,002 |
[i] Robust standard errors in parentheses. All models include a constant term and controls for sex, age group and origin (not shown). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.
Table 6
Regression results—association between declining disability and changes in registry-based or self-reported health, participation and activity limitations.
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WG-SS—DECLINING VS. CONSISTENT | GALI—DECLINING VS. CONSISTENT | WG-SS—DECLINING VS. CONSISTENT | GALI—DECLINING VS. CONSISTENT | |
| Registry-based health status | ||||
| No disability-related contact (ref.) | . | . | . | . |
| At least one contact | –0.11*** (0.03) | –0.12** (0.04) | . | . |
| Self-reported health status change | . | . | ||
| Better | . | . | 0.03 (0.04) | 0.07 (0.04) |
| Same (ref.) | . | . | . | . |
| Worse | . | . | –0.13*** (0.03) | –0.22*** (0.04) |
| Participation | ||||
| Restricted | –0.09* (0.03) | –0.19*** (0.04) | –0.10** (0.03) | –0.19*** (0.04) |
| Not restricted (ref.) | . | . | . | . |
| Activity limitation in 2016 or 2020 | ||||
| Both years | –0.32*** (0.04) | –0.31*** (0.07) | –0.31*** (0.04) | –0.27*** (0.07) |
| 2016 only | –0.08 (0.05) | –0.08 (0.06) | –0.06 (0.05) | –0.06 (0.06) |
| 2020 only | –0.17*** (0.05) | –0.24*** (0.07) | –0.15** (0.05) | –0.19** (0.06) |
| Neither year (ref.) | . | . | . | . |
| Observations | 1,101 | 530 | 1,100 | 529 |
[i] Robust standard errors in parentheses. All models include a constant term and controls for sex, age group and origin (not shown). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.