Supported By: This investigation was supported by NIA grant
RO1AG21055.
OBJECTIVE: To report the level of dependence in Activities of
Daily Living (ADLs) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living
(IADLs) in non-demented community dwelling ninety year-olds.
BACKGROUND: Little is known about the functional abilities
of community-residing oldest-old, the fastest growing segment of the
population.
METHODS: Eighty nine men and women from the 90+ Study, a
population-based investigation of individuals 90 years or older residing
in Southern California. Subjects were excluded if they had a
Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of less than 24, or
were missing data on any of the relevant variables. Five ADLs (moving
about indoors, bathing, eating, continence, and dressing) and five
IADLs (doing finances, shopping, traveling out of the neighborhood,
preparing meals, and using the telephone) were assessed by self-report
from each subject. Each of the ten items was scored as: 0 (independent),
1 (difficult), 2 (needs some assistance), or 3 (dependent).
Subjects were considered independent if they had scores of 0 or 1,
and dependent if they had scores of 2 or 3 on an item.
RESULTS: Sixty seven percent of subjects were women. Fifty
six percent lived alone, 20% had a college degree or higher, and mean
age was 93.7 years (range 90 to 100). Seventy eight subjects (87.6%)
were independent in all five ADLs. Of the 12.4% who needed help
with ADLs, assistance was required most frequently for bathing
(73%). Sixty two (69.7%) were independent in all five IADLs. Of the
30.3% who needed help on IADLs, assistance was required most frequently
for shopping (85%), traveling (48%), and doing finances
(37%).
CONCLUSION: Most community-residing non-demented 90+
year olds in this study were independent in all ADLs and IADLs. Dependency
frequently involved activities that appeared to have a mobility
or visual acuity component. Further research is needed to investigate
the determinants of functional loss in the oldest-old.