What is it about?
We know that disability rates among older Americans were falling for decades, but that trend started reversing around 2000. This study asks: did it get worse after 2010, and who was most affected? Using data from nearly two decades of national health surveys (2000–2018), we tracked how many adults aged 50–84 reported needing help with everyday tasks like bathing, dressing, cooking, or managing money, broken down by age group, race/ethnicity, and whether people were born in the US or abroad (controlling for other things sucha as education). We found that worsening disability trends continued well into the 2010s, and that the sharpest increases were concentrated among adults aged 50–64, not the oldest old. For some racial/ethnic subgroups in that middle-aged bracket, disability more than doubled over the period.
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Why is it important?
The assumption that older Americans are getting healthier over time no longer holds. Middle-aged adults are becoming more disabled at an alarming pace, which matters because they are still working age. Racial and ethnic minority groups, particularly non-Hispanic Black adults, carry a disproportionately high burden. Hispanics present a worrying pattern too: while they started the period with relatively lower disability levels, their rates worsened over time, suggesting that any initial health advantage is eroding. These findings have direct implications for workforce participation, caregiving, and health policy, especially for programs like Social Security Disability Insurance and Medicaid.
Perspectives
Disability in America's story reveals that people in their 50s and early 60s (those approaching but not yet at retirement age) are the ones experiencing the steepest increases in limitations and getting in worst shape in relative terms. For minorities, the picture is especially troubling: not only do they start from a worse baseline, but in many cases their disadvantage is widening. The Hispanic population presents a nuanced case: starting with disability levels that were not dramatically different from non-Hispanic whites, but showing deteriorating trends over time, especially those who are US born.. These findings should prompt policymakers to look well beyond the 65+ population when designing disability prevention and support programs.
Octavio Bramajo
Universitat Zurich
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Age-specific trends in limitations of daily activities in American adults aged 50–84 by race and ethnicity, 2000–2018, PLOS One, February 2026, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0340694.
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