Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Mar;38(3):412-423.
doi: 10.1177/0733464817690677. Epub 2017 Jan 29.

Physical Function Does Not Predict Care Assessment Need Score in Older Veterans

Monica C Serra  1   2 , Odessa Addison  1   2 , Jamie Giffuni  1 , Lydia Paden  1 , Miriam C Morey  3   4 , Leslie Katzel  1   2
Affiliations

Physical Function Does Not Predict Care Assessment Need Score in Older Veterans

Monica C Serra et al. J Appl Gerontol. 2019 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: The Veterans Health Administration's Care Assessment Need (CAN) score is a statistical model, aimed to predict high-risk patients. We were interested in determining if a relationship existed between physical function and CAN scores. Method: Seventy-four older (71 ± 1 years) male Veterans underwent assessment of CAN score and subjective (Short Form-36 [SF-36]) and objective (self-selected walking speed, four square step test, short physical performance battery) assessment of physical function. Results: Approximately 25% of participants self-reported limitations performing lower intensity activities, while 70% to 90% reported limitations with more strenuous activities. When compared with cut points indicative of functional limitations, 35% to 65% of participants had limitations for each of the objective measures. Any measure of subjective or objective physical function did not predict CAN score. Conclusion: These data indicate that the addition of a physical function assessment may complement the CAN score in the identification of high-risk patients.

Keywords: SPPB; Veteran; activities of daily living; aging; disability; gait speed; mobility function; subjective physical function.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Veterans self-report greater limitations in how their current health affects their ability to perform tasks of increasing intensity, with ~90% reporting limitations with vigorous activities (N = 74).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. ATS Committee on Proficiency Standards for Clinical Pulmonary Function Laboratories. ATS statement: Guidelines for the six-minute walk test. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 2002;166:111–117. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm.166.1.at1102. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Agha Z, Lofgren RP, VanRuiswyk JV, Layde PM. Are patients at Veterans Affairs medical centers sicker? A comparative analysis of health status and medical resource use. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2000;160:3252–3257. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11088086. - PubMed
    1. Allaudeen N, Schnipper JL, Orav EJ, Wachter RM, Vidyarthi AR. Inability of providers to predict unplanned readmissions. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2011;26:771–776. doi: 10.1007/s11606-011-1663-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Blanke DJ, Hageman PA. Comparison of gait of young men and elderly men. Physical Therapy. 1989;69:144–148. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2913584. - PubMed
    1. Brach JS, VanSwearingen JM, Newman AB, Kriska AM. Identifying early decline of physical function in community-dwelling older women: Performance-based and self-report measures. Physical Therapy. 2002;82:320–328. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11922849. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources