Gender, health, marriage and mobility difficulty among older adults in India

Recent evidence from India suggests a growing prevalence of morbidity and poor health status along with significant increases in longevity in the elderly population (Alam, 2000). Yet, barring a few exceptions, most studies about the health and functional ability of older persons in India are based on impressionistic findings and rarely provide empirical evidence addressing the factors that are associated with morbidity and functional limitations.