Serum Albumin and Activities of Daily Living in Chinese Centenarians: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Background Objective deterioration in activities of daily living (ADL) exists in older people, particularly grows with age. While as the criterion standard of positive aging and longevity, little information that focuses on centenarians is available. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between serum albumin and activities of daily living among centenarians in long-lived areas.Methods design—population-based cross-sectional study; setting—a complete sample study in Hainan, the longest-lived areas of China; subjects—Chinese older adults aged 100 and above (N=1002); measurements—serum albumin, basic and instrumental activities of daily living (BADL and IADL).Results Of 1002 participants included in the analysis 287(28.64%) were BADL disability, and 648(64.67%) were IADL disability. The median serum albumin level was 38.5 g/L (interquartile range, 36.2-41.3). In multivariable analyses controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle characteristics and other influential factors, low albumin in the bottom quartile were associated with BADL disability (OR=5.994;95% CI: 3.542-10.143) and IADL disability (OR=4.398; 95% CI, 2.661-7.269). Serum albumin concentration showed a significant inverse linear relationship with ADL disability (P for trend &lt;0.001). In sex-stratified analyses, the association was more pronounced in women. And we found a nonlinear relationship between serum albumin and IADL disability in female centenarians (P=0.025) from restricted cubic splines.Conclusions Low levels of albumin were associated with the decline in ADL function in centenarians, and this association was gender-specific and more prominent in the female.</jats:p>