[The causes of people with physical disabilities aged 15-59 years in China]

To understand the present situation and the changes of causes of people with physical disabilities aged 15-59 years during the past 20 years in China.

The data of causes of people with physical disabilities aged 15-59 collected from the results of The China National Sample Survey on Disability in 1987 and 2006 were analyzed and compared by using epidemiology method.

The main category of causes of people with physical disabilities aged 15-59 was disease, followed by injury factors, congenital diseases, eccyliosis and other factors. Their causing-disability rates were 0.720%, 0.595%, 0.224% and 0.186% respectively. Other traumas had the highest causing-disability rate of 0.296% in all causes. As compared with those in 1987, the causing-disability rates of disease factors, injury factors and congenital diseases and eccyliosis were increased obviously. The top five causes of disabilities aged 15-59 in China were other traumas, poliomyelitis, arthropathy, cerebrovascular diseases and industrial injury in 2006; while the other traumas, poliomyelitis, other known causes, unknown causes and vascular diseases were the top five in 1987.

Disease factors and injury factors should be the main causes of people with, physical disabilities aged at 15-59 years, and the other traumas should have the highest causing-disability rate, and the arthropathy and cerebrovascular diseases might become the main causes.