Prevalence of disability in Tamil Nadu, India

Information on disability is essential for the government to formulate policies, allocate adequate resources and implement appropriate programmes. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of disability and describe the types of disability by gender, age and geographical regions in Tamil Nadu, India.

We analysed the 2011 Census cross-sectional survey data of Tamil Nadu. Age-adjusted disability rates and disability rates per 100 000 population were calculated.

There were 1 179 963 disabled individuals in Tamil Nadu in 2011, a disability rate of 1635 per 100 000 population. Disability in movement, hearing and sight individually accounted for 24%, 19% and 11% of the total disability, respectively. Sixteen districts had disability rates above the state average. As age advanced, disability rates increased; the highest disability rate of 2533 per 100 000 was among people aged 60 years and above. The disability rates were higher in males compared to females (1819 v. 1451 per 100 000). Rural areas had higher disability areas compared to urban (1670 v. 1599 per 100 000). Currently married, working populations and literate populations had lower disability rates. Disability rate in the Scheduled Castes was higher at 1763 per 100 000 compared to the Scheduled Tribes and other social groups. Multiple disability was high in the age groups 0-19 years and 60 years and above.

Physical or mental disability was observed in 1.6% of the population of Tamil Nadu. Research is warranted to identify underlying causes and interventions to reduce the burden of disability in the state.