Chronic Conditions That Lead to Functional Limitation in the Elderly

Boult, Chad; Kane, Robert L; Louis, Thomas A.; Boult, Lisa; McCaffrey, David J.

doi:10.1093/geronj/49.1.m28

Cited by 340 publications

(237 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

218

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Compared with younger subjects, patients older than 65 years were more likely to have a higher number of health problems. The relationship between ageing, loss of functional abilities and increased incidence of chronic medical condition has been documented in previous longitudinal studies (Harris et al, 1989;Guralnik et al, 1989;Boult et al, 1994). In this sample there was a considerable portion of patients advanced in years with a higher number of co-morbid illnesses.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 55%

Physical and psychosocial outcomes in cancer patients: a comparison of different age groups

Greimel¹,

Padilla²,

Grant³

1997

Br J Cancer

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary In a cross-sectional study, we investigated the relationship between age, physical health, social and economic resources, functional status, activities of daily living (ADL) and disease-related variables of 227 patients with cancer. Using multidimensional outcome measures we examined age differences in three age groups (< 45, 46-65, >65 years) and identified predictors of performing ADL. The results indicated that older patients have outcomes similar to those of younger patients. There were no significant differences in quality of life, performance status and physical health among the three age groups. The only areas where age-related differences were found were comorbidity and cancer-related impairments. Patients aged 45-65 years and patients 65 years and older reported a higher level of co-morbidity and more cancer-related impairments than those aged 45 and younger. Although older patients had higher co-morbidity, they showed similar Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) scores to those of their younger counterparts. The regression analysis revealed social resources, selfreported health, performance status and complexity of care as significant predictors of patients' ADL, but not age, co-morbidity or severity of treatment. The findings support the conclusion that differences in performing ADL between younger and older patients with cancer are minimal and tend to be due to co-morbidity. Thus, treatment should be decided by a patient's physical health rather than by age.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 55%

Physical and psychosocial outcomes in cancer patients: a comparison of different age groups

Greimel¹,

Padilla²,

Grant³

1997

Br J Cancer

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The finding that recreational physical activity was associated with less functional limitation is consistent with other studies. Data from the Longitudinal Study of Aging, 28,29 the Honolulu Heart Study, 30 The Alameda County study, 31 and other groups [32][33][34] have found that physically active people had a lower prevalence of functional limitation than did sedentary people.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal Change in Physical Activity and Disability in Adults

Gretebeck

Black

Ferraro

et al. 2001

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives-To prospectively examine whether physical activity or change in physical activity increases or decreases the risk of disability later in life.Methods-Tobit regression models were used to examine the effect of physical activity at baseline and change from baseline on disability 10 and 20 years later in 6913 adults.Results-Increasing recreational physical activity was associated with reduced risk of disability whereas reducing recreational physical activity increased the risk of disability after 10 years. Conclusions-The analyses reveal a protective effect of sustained physical activity on disability among adults.Keywords recreational activity; nonrecreational activity; physical functioning; health behavior Physical activity has been shown to have a protective effect on the development of disease and disability, and regular physical activity is a staple of preventive health programs. 1 Among relatively healthy individuals, physical activity is associated with optimal function and low incidence of functional disability. 2 Even among those with disabilities, exercise programs improve health and can reduce existing levels of functional disability. 3 Low levels of physical activity caused by difficulties in performing daily activities may cause a vicious circle leading to further decline in strength and worsening of functional ability. Alternatively, increased physical activity among older people is associated with increased functional ability 4 as well as improved cognitive performance, mood, body image, selfesteem, and a general feeling of psychological well-being. 5 Verbrugge and Jette 6 suggested that a high level of physical activity some years earlier might be expected to improve the likelihood of having a lower level of disability, based on the familiar "use it or lose it" principal. Most studies that show a beneficial effect of exercise on disability have focused on leisure-time physical activity. 7 However, nonrecreational physical activity has also shown a protective effect among vigorously active occupations against mortality from coronary heart disease compared with the effect observed among sedentary jobs. With respect to disability, some studies have suggested that jobs requiring frequent heavy lifting greater than 25 pounds, especially when combined with twisting or asymmetry, might predispose individuals to disability. 8,9 The purpose of this investigation is to address the Copyright (c) PNG Publications All rights reserved. Contact Dr Gretebeck; r.gretebeck@wayne.edu. NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript relationship between changes in both nonrecreational and recreational physical activity and disability later in life using a large national database with 3 separate time points over a 20-year period in adults of all ages. NIH Public Access Methods and Materials SampleThis investigation was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Purdue University. The database used in this investigation has been previously described. 10 Briefly, data from ...

show abstract

“…Chronic disorders concerned the occurrence of at least one out of eight chronic disorders that have been shown to limit PF, during the preceding year: osteoarthritis, rheumatism, chronic back complaints (including hernia), myocardial infarction, other severe heart diseases (like angina pectoris and heart failure), diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (including bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema), and stroke [9]. Next, the number of chronic disorders was counted, yielding a score ranging from 0 to 8.…”

Section: Data and Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Katz' ADL index assessed functional performance of Turkish, Moroccan, and Dutch elderly

Reijneveld

Spijker

Dijkshoorn

2007

Journal of Clinical Epidemiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background and Objective: We examined the reliability and validity of self-reported limitations encountered in the activities of daily living (ADL) as measure of functional performance, for Turkish, Moroccan, and indigenous Dutch elderly in the Netherlands.Methods: We obtained data on self-reported ADL measured by Katz' ADL index and on five related health outcomes among a general population sample of 304 Dutch, 330 Turkish, and 299 Moroccan respondents aged 55e74 years, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands (response: 60%).Results: Katz' ADL index demonstrated good internal consistencies for each ethnic group (Cronbach's alphas: 0.84e0.94). Regarding validity, the ADL index showed relatively strong associations with related outcomes, that is, long-term limitations in mobility and SF-36 physical functioning (rank correlations: 0.64 and À0.60, respectively). Associations with more general health outcomes, number of chronic disorders, Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale symptoms, and SF-36 role performance were weaker, as expected. Associations were stronger for Moroccans than for indigenous Dutch elderly regarding both SF-36 outcomes and depressive symptoms.Conclusion: Katz' ADL index is valid to assess functional performance of Turkish, Moroccan, and Dutch elderly, but comparisons with Moroccan elderly should be handled with caution. The explanation of these findings and their generalizability to other ethnic groups deserve further study. Ó

show abstract

Chronic Conditions That Lead to Functional Limitation in the Elderly

Abstract: In the future, the primary prevention or effective treatment of cerebrovascular disease, arthritis, and possibly coronary artery disease may produce a modest reduction in the incidence of severe functional limitation.

Cited by 340 publications

References 0 publications

Physical and psychosocial outcomes in cancer patients: a comparison of different age groups

Physical and psychosocial outcomes in cancer patients: a comparison of different age groups

Longitudinal Change in Physical Activity and Disability in Adults

Katz' ADL index assessed functional performance of Turkish, Moroccan, and Dutch elderly

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About