Prevalence and Trends of Basic Activities of Daily Living Limitations in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States

Background: Population-level surveillance of the prevalence and trends of basic self-care limitations will help to identify the magnitude of physical disablement in the rapidly growing older American demographic. We sought to evaluate the prevalence and trends of activities of daily living (ADL) lim...

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Main Authors: Halli Heimbuch, Yeong Rhee, Marty Douglas, Kirsten Juhl, Kelly Knoll, Sherri Stastny, Ryan McGrath
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-11-01
Series:Epidemiologia
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-3986/4/4/40
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author Halli Heimbuch
Yeong Rhee
Marty Douglas
Kirsten Juhl
Kelly Knoll
Sherri Stastny
Ryan McGrath
author_facet Halli Heimbuch
Yeong Rhee
Marty Douglas
Kirsten Juhl
Kelly Knoll
Sherri Stastny
Ryan McGrath
author_sort Halli Heimbuch
collection DOAJ
description Background: Population-level surveillance of the prevalence and trends of basic self-care limitations will help to identify the magnitude of physical disablement in the rapidly growing older American demographic. We sought to evaluate the prevalence and trends of activities of daily living (ADL) limitations in the United States. Methods: The analytic sample included 30,418 Americans aged ≥50 years from the 2006–2018 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. ADLs were self-reported. Weighted prevalence estimates were presented, and trends analyses were performed. Results: Although overall ADL disability prevalence was 16.5% (95% confidence interval: 15.8–17.2) in 2018, there were no changes in limitations during the study period (<i>p</i> = 0.52). Older adults had a greater ADL disability prevalence than middle-aged adults (<i>p</i> < 0.001). While older persons experienced a declining trend of ADL limitations (<i>p</i> < 0.001), middle-aged persons had an increasing trend (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Males had a lower ADL limitation prevalence than females (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black had a higher ADL disability prevalence than non-Hispanic White (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Conclusions: This investigation revealed that while the estimated prevalence of ADL limitations in the United States was substantial, changes in such limitations were not observed. Our findings can help guide ADL screening, target sub-populations with an elevated ADL limitation prevalence, and inform interventions.
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spelling doaj.art-f82f6caa68ed45b3999982e310475b792023-12-22T14:07:44ZengMDPI AGEpidemiologia2673-39862023-11-014448349110.3390/epidemiologia4040040Prevalence and Trends of Basic Activities of Daily Living Limitations in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United StatesHalli Heimbuch0Yeong Rhee1Marty Douglas2Kirsten Juhl3Kelly Knoll4Sherri Stastny5Ryan McGrath6Healthy Aging North Dakota (HAND), North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USADepartment of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences, Fargo, ND 58108, USADepartment of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences, Fargo, ND 58108, USASanford Health, Fargo, ND 58102, USAHealthy Aging North Dakota (HAND), North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USADepartment of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences, Fargo, ND 58108, USAHealthy Aging North Dakota (HAND), North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58102, USABackground: Population-level surveillance of the prevalence and trends of basic self-care limitations will help to identify the magnitude of physical disablement in the rapidly growing older American demographic. We sought to evaluate the prevalence and trends of activities of daily living (ADL) limitations in the United States. Methods: The analytic sample included 30,418 Americans aged ≥50 years from the 2006–2018 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. ADLs were self-reported. Weighted prevalence estimates were presented, and trends analyses were performed. Results: Although overall ADL disability prevalence was 16.5% (95% confidence interval: 15.8–17.2) in 2018, there were no changes in limitations during the study period (<i>p</i> = 0.52). Older adults had a greater ADL disability prevalence than middle-aged adults (<i>p</i> < 0.001). While older persons experienced a declining trend of ADL limitations (<i>p</i> < 0.001), middle-aged persons had an increasing trend (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Males had a lower ADL limitation prevalence than females (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black had a higher ADL disability prevalence than non-Hispanic White (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Conclusions: This investigation revealed that while the estimated prevalence of ADL limitations in the United States was substantial, changes in such limitations were not observed. Our findings can help guide ADL screening, target sub-populations with an elevated ADL limitation prevalence, and inform interventions.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-3986/4/4/40epidemiologygeriatricspopulation surveillanceself-care
spellingShingle Halli Heimbuch
Yeong Rhee
Marty Douglas
Kirsten Juhl
Kelly Knoll
Sherri Stastny
Ryan McGrath
Prevalence and Trends of Basic Activities of Daily Living Limitations in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States
Epidemiologia
epidemiology
geriatrics
population surveillance
self-care
title Prevalence and Trends of Basic Activities of Daily Living Limitations in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States
title_full Prevalence and Trends of Basic Activities of Daily Living Limitations in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States
title_fullStr Prevalence and Trends of Basic Activities of Daily Living Limitations in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States
title_full_unstemmed Prevalence and Trends of Basic Activities of Daily Living Limitations in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States
title_short Prevalence and Trends of Basic Activities of Daily Living Limitations in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States
title_sort prevalence and trends of basic activities of daily living limitations in middle aged and older adults in the united states
topic epidemiology
geriatrics
population surveillance
self-care
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-3986/4/4/40
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