Studying disability trends in aging populations

This article reviews the current literature on disability trends in aging populations and proposes a framework for studying disability trends built upon existing models of disablement. In addition to considering disablement and its associated factors, our framework also includes factors at population level and the interplays among personal resources and health behaviors, intervention programs, technological advances, and the consequences of disability trends in the context of life course and socio-ecological perspective. The framework is abbreviated FE-BRIT-SE to denote individual-level (F)ixed attributes, including genetic factors, personality, age, sex, and earlier life conditions, and the (E)nvironment; individual (B)ehaviors, (R)esources, (I)nterventions, (T)echnology; and (S)ocioeconomic and (E)cological consequences of disability trends. The overview offers an integrated framework for understanding the disablement process, trends and their complex milieu of causes and consequences.