scholarly journals Hierarchical Structure in Activities of Daily Living and Long-Term Disability Trajectories in the Elderly Chinese Population: A 20-Year Cohort Study

Author(s):  
Yaofeng Han ◽  
Jihui Xue ◽  
Wei Pei ◽  
Ya Fang

Abstract Background: The global burden of disability is rising. Understanding the hierarchical structure of activities of daily living (ADL) and the disability trajectory of elderly people is pivotal to developing early interventions. Purpose: We aimed to determine the hierarchical structure of the ability to perform ADL and further describe the disability trajectory of the elderly before death. Methods: A longitudinal item response theory model (LIRT) was constructed from 28 345 elderly participants in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, in which ADL were measured by the Katz scale for up to 20 years from 1998 to 2018, until the participants' death. The disability values estimated from the LIRT were fitted to a mixed-effects model to examine how the disability trajectories varied with different demographic characteristics. Results: The difficulty parameters showed that ADL losses began with bathing-partial (B=-1.396, SE=0.003), then toileting-partial, bathing-total, dressing-partial, transferring-partial, dressing-total, feeding-partial, continence-partial, toileting-total, feeding-total, transferring-total, and ended with continence-total (a=3.647, SE=0.013). Disability trajectories varied with sex (β=0.041, SE=0.001), place of residence (β=0.010, SE=0.001), and marital status (β=0.144, SE=0.001). Females, people who lived in urban areas, and those who lived without a spouse had poorer disability status. Conclusion: Losses in the ability to perform ADL have a hierarchical structure. Demographic characteristics affect disability trajectories among the elderly Chinese population.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaofeng Han ◽  
Jihui Xue ◽  
Wei Pei ◽  
Ya Fang

Abstract Background The global burden of disability continues to increase. Understanding the hierarchical structure of activities of daily living (ADL) and the trajectories of disability of elderly individuals is pivotal to developing early interventions. Purpose To determine the hierarchical structure of the ability of Chinese elderly individuals to perform ADL and further describe the trajectories of disability prior to death. Methods Longitudinal item response theory model (LIRT) was constructed for 28,345 elderly participants in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, in which ADL were measured using the Katz scale from 1998 to 2018, until the participants’ death. Two difficulty parameters (κ−partial and κ−total) were used in the LIRT defining the thresholds for hierarchical structure in ADL (κ−partial: no limitation to partial limitation, κ−total: partial limitation to totally limited). Disability values estimated from the LIRT were fitted to a mixed-effects model to examine the manner in which the trajectories of disability varied with different subject characteristics. Results The findings confirmed the earliest loss in the capability to perform ADL (bathing(κ-partial = − 1.396), toileting(κ-partial = − 0.904)) at the level of partial limitation, with an overlap of partial and totally limited (total bathing, partial dressing, partial transferring, total dressing, partial feeding, partial continence), and finally a total loss of capability for toileting, feeding, transferring, and continence (κ-total = 3.647). Disability trajectories varied with sex (β = 0.041, SE = 0.001), place of residence (β = 0.010, SE = 0.001), and marital status (β = 0.144, SE = 0.001). Females, individuals living in urban areas, and those who lived without a spouse had a poorer disability status. Conclusion The loss in the ability to perform ADL has a hierarchical structure. Subject characteristics affect trajectories of disability in the elderly Chinese population.


2021 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. e51421
Author(s):  
Roberta Dayanny Soares ◽  
Aíla Maropô Araújo

Population aging in Brazil increases on a large scale due to declining fertility and mortality. This phenomenon can be influenced by several factors (demographic, biological and social), making them determinants for the health conditions of the elderly populations residing in different geographic areas. The present study aims to identify the functional limitation in elderly residents of urban and rural areas of Brazil. This is a descriptive epidemiological study with a quantitative approach. It was evidenced that the functional limitation for activities of daily living   and instrumental activities of daily living are concentrated in the northeast region, mainly in the urban area. The following states presented the highest proportions of daily life activity limitation in urban areas: Alagoas (11.60%), Rio Grande do Norte (10.95%), Pernambuco (10.36%) and Paraíba (9.62%). For activities of daily living in the rural area were found in the states of Paraíba (12.19%), Maranhão (8.93%), Piauí (8.85%) and then Pernambuco (7.24%). Data from the functional limitation for instrumental activities of daily living again highlighted the Northeast region, with the states of Rio Grande do Norte (26.01%), Paraíba (25.96%), Maranhão (25.72%) and Alagoas (24.57%). Lastly, it was verified that the elderly woman exhibits greater proportions of functional limitation in relation to the elderly of the masculine sex, standing out again the northeastern region of the country.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-85
Author(s):  
Mojirola Martina Fasiku ◽  
Kabir Adekunle Durowade ◽  
Matthew Olumuyiwa Bojuwoye ◽  
Abdullahi Ahmed ◽  
Medinat Omobola Osinubi ◽  
...  

Objective: The elderly usually require assistance and sometimes have unmet needs for assistance with activities of daily living. This study assessed the unmet needs for assistance with activities of daily living among the elderly in rural and urban areas in Kwara Central Senatorial District, Nigeria.  Methods:  Cross-sectional data were collected using pre-tested semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaires from 300 elderly using the multistage sampling technique. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences 20 was used to analyze data, and the level of significance was predetermined at a p-value less than 0.05.  Results: Overall, 60% of the elderly in the urban than rural group (46%) had unmet needs for assistance with activities of daily living. The prevalence of unmet needs for assistance with basic activities of daily living in the rural areas ranged from 0.0% (eating) to 70.8 % (bathing) and 0.0% (eating) to 68.8 % (transferring) in the urban areas. The prevalence of unmet needs for instrumental activities of daily living ranged from 16.7% (handling finances) to 59.3 % (cooking) for those in the rural areas. However, the range was from 33.3% (transportation) to 75.0% (taking medications) in the urban areas. The urban respondents had higher unmet needs for assistance with telephone use than rural respondents. (p=0.004*).  Conclusion: The elderly in the urban areas had a higher prevalence of unmet needs for assistance with activities of daily living. The government must address the needs of the elderly through a policy to prevent unmet needs for assistance with activities of daily living.


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 392-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andréa Mathes Faustino ◽  
Lenora Gandolfi ◽  
Leides Barroso de Azevedo Moura

Objective To verify whether there is a connection between the functional capacity of the elderly and the presence of violent situations in their daily lives. Methods A population-based cross-sectional study developed with 237 elderly individuals. Standard and validated research instruments were used. Results Mean age of 70.25 years (standard deviation of 6.94), 69% were female, 76% were independent in basic activities of daily living and 54% had a partial dependence on at least one instrumental activity. The most prevalent violence was psychological and the relation between being dependent on basic activities of daily living and suffering physical violence was statistically significant. Conclusion When the elderly needs assistance to perform self-care activities, there is a greater chance of exposure to a situation of abuse, such as physical violence.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Iza Gomes da Penha Sobral ◽  
Cláudia Marina Tavares de Araújo ◽  
Marcos Felipe Falcão Sobral

Abstract Mild Cognitive Impairment is characterized as an intermediate form between age-related change and dementia. For the elderly, autonomy and independence are related to the ability to remain active in conducting their social activities and, for this to occur, communication is fundamental in this process. Objective: To assess the association between communication and the abilities of elderly people with mild cognitive impairment to perform instrumental activities of daily living. Methods: A cross-sectional, quantitative, analytical, correlational study was conducted at the Open University of the Third Age (UnATI), a program of the Federal University of Pernambuco. This study included 92 people, comprising 46 elderly with mild cognitive impairment and a caregiver or family member who met the inclusion criteria. The elderly were asked to complete a sociodemographic questionnaire and Lawton-Brody’s Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale. The caregivers were asked to complete the Functional Assessment of Communication Skills. The following variables were studied: social communication skills and instrumental activities of daily living. Data were stored in an Excel® 2007 spreadsheet, and the Pearson correlation test was used for the statistical analysis. Results: There were statistically significant correlations in four domains of social communication: referring to family members by name (p=0.0033); requesting information about people or events (p=0.0355); understanding conversations in a noisy environment (p=0.0448); and understanding what they watch on television or listen to on the radio (p=0.0127). Conclusion: Changes in the communication of elderly people with mild cognitive impairment interfere with their ability to perform instrumental activities autonomously and independently.


2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis PAJECKI ◽  
Marco Aurélio SANTO ◽  
Ana Lumi KANAGI ◽  
Daniel RICCIOPPO ◽  
Roberto de CLEVA ◽  
...  

Context Obesity in the elderly is associated with exacerbation of functional decline (dependency), that occurs with aging, because of decreased muscle mass and strength, and increased joint dysfunction. Consequently, there is progressive loss of independence, autonomy, chronic pain and impaired quality of life. The weight loss can bring benefits in all these aspects, especially when accompanied by exercises. Elderly patients with morbid obesity may be submitted to surgical treatment, taking into account that the massive weight loss, eventually caused by bariatric surgery, may exacerbate the loss of muscle mass and nutritional complications that may bring harm to the overall health and quality of life of these patients. The functional assessment of elderly patients, candidates for bariatric surgery and the extent to which surgery can bring benefits to the patients, in the field of functionality, has still to be determined. Objective To describe profile functionality in obese elderly referred to a bariatric surgery program. Methods Patients with age ≥60 and BMI ≥35 underwent comprehensive geriatric assessment that evaluates co morbidities, medication use, ability to perform basic activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living, and the “Timedupandgo” test to evaluate mobility, whose cut-off point was ≤10 seconds. Statistical analysis was performed in order to see if there is a positive correlation of dependency with BMI and age (over or under 65 years). Results Forty subjects have completed evaluation. The mean age was 64.1 years (60-72) and 75% were women. They had an average weight of 121.1 kg (72.7-204) and a mean BMI of 47.2 kg/m2 (35.8-68.9). 16 patients (40%) have shown dependency for activities of daily living, 19 (47,5%) for instrumental activities of daily living and 20 patients (50%) had a “Timedupandgo” test over 10 seconds. Statistical analysis (t-Student, Mann-Whitney, Binary Logistic Regression) has shown positive correlation of dependency in activities of daily living for BMI >49 kg/m2, dependency in instrumental activities of daily living for BMI >46,5 kg/m2, and “Timedupandgo” test greater than 10 seconds for BMI >51 kg/m2 (P<0,05). No dependency difference was observed for patients over or under 65 years age. Conclusions Functional decline is observed in almost half of the morbid obese patients over 60 years old. It is related to increasing BMI (BMI >46,5 kg/m2) but not related to age (60 to 65 years or over 65 years). Functional decline should be considered a co-morbidity in the elderly obese patients and should be assessed before bariatric surgery in this population.


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