The Association Between Self-Reported and Performance-Based Physical Function With Activities of Daily Living Disability in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Background Physical function limitations precede disability and are a target to prevent or delay disability in aging adults. The objective of this article was to assess the relationship between self-report and performance-based measures of physical function with disability. Methods Baseline data (2012–2015) from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (n = 51,338) was used. Disability was defined as having a limitation for at least one of 14 activities of daily living. Physical function was measured using 14 questions across three domains (upper body, lower body, and dexterity) and five performance-based tests (gait speed, timed up and go, single leg stance, chair rise, and grip strength). Logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between physical function operationalized as (i) at least one limitation, (ii) presence or absence of limitations in each individual domain/test, and (iii) number of domains/tests with limitations, with disability. Results In the 21,241 participants with self-reported function data, the odds of disability were 1.87 (95% CI: 1.56–2.24), 6.78 (5.68–8.08), and 14.43 (11.50–18.1) for one, two, and three limited domains, respectively. In the 30,097 participants with performance-based measures of function, the odds of disability ranged from 1.53 (1.33–1.76) for one test limited to 14.91 (11.56–19.26) for all five tests limited. Conclusions Both performance-based and self-report measures of physical function were associated with disability. Each domain and performance test remained associated with disability after adjustment for the other domains and tests. Disability risk was higher when the number of self-report domains and performance-based limitations increased.