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
. 1996 Dec;44(12):1421-8.
doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1996.tb04065.x.

Self-report of difficulty in performing functional activities identifies a broad range of disability in old age

Affiliations

Self-report of difficulty in performing functional activities identifies a broad range of disability in old age

J A Langlois et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1996 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: To describe a broad range of physical disability by examining the association between a four-level measure of disability, based on self-report of difficulty in performing functional activities, and previously identified risk factors for disability.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Community-based.

Participants: A total of 2373 noninstitutionalized men and women aged 65 and older from the Veneto Region of Italy.

Measurements: Odds ratios for the association of the four levels of disability (none, mild, moderate, and ADL disability) differentiated by this new measure with known risk factors for physical disability.

Main results: This summary measure of physical disability distinguished older persons with disability from the population typically classified as nondisabled. Twenty-one percent of study participants were identified as having Activities of Daily Living (ADL) disability (defined as self-report of difficulty in one or more ADLs), and an additional 40% had mild or moderate disability based on degree of difficulty in Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) and physical functional activities. Hip fracture and lower extremity performance were strongly independently associated with each level of disability. The association of a range of established risk factors for disability and health care utilization measures with the levels of disability identified in our study, and the trend toward increasing odds with increasing disability, provide evidence of the construct validity of this measure.

Conclusions: Self-report of difficulty in performing functional activities identifies older persons with physical disability not ascertained by self-report of the need for help, the measure typically used to identify disability in older populations. Further studies should evaluate the potential for self-reported difficulty in functional activities to predict important disability-related outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources