Gender differential in health and old age: a study in India

Abstract

India exhibits paradoxical picture as the developed nations that despite higher life expectancies women are more likely to experience poorer health condition compared to men at the old age period. Nevertheless, unlike developed nations there is no systematic study on this paradox; why such a paradox appears; how gender gap in morbidity is distributed across various socio-economic and demographic variables; the relative importance of various explanatory variables to the gender differential in health. This paper examines gender differential in health of old age population in India and its socio-economic and demographic determinants using data from National Sample Survey 60th round collected in 2004. Based on multiple health outcomes, self-reported health, disability, it has also been observed similar picture as found in developed nations that Indian older women are fare worse compared to their male counterparts. The step-wise logistic regression analysis shows that the gender differential in health is subject to various socio-economic and demographic variables and gender gap could be reduced or the so called paradox can be wipe out through appropriate policy intervention. Specifically, more focus should be given for improving socio-economic development of widowed women to reduce the old age differential in health; since a significant proportion of aggregate gender gap in health outcomes of old aged population is contributed by poorer health status of widowed women.