Functional Differences Found in the Elderly Living in the Community

Estela Calatayud, Beatriz Rodríguez-Roca, Javier Aresté, Yolanda Marcén-Román, Carlos Salavera and Isabel Gómez-Soria
Additional contact information
Estela Calatayud: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Beatriz Rodríguez-Roca: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Javier Aresté: Independent Scholar, 50004 Zaragoza, Spain
Yolanda Marcén-Román: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Carlos Salavera: Faculty of Education, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Isabel Gómez-Soria: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-10

Abstract: Introduction: Successful aging lies in cognitive and functional maintenance, and in the optimal performance of daily tasks that keep the elderly free of disability and dependence. However, there is little evidence for functional differences for gender and age, and how cognitive and physical demands in past working lives can affect them, to design more personalized occupational therapy interventions to prevent functional and cognitive impairment. Method: This observational descriptive study evaluated 367 older adults living in a community with subjective memory complaints and scored between 24 and 35 with the Spanish version of the “Mini-Mental State Examination (MEC-35)”. Basic activities of daily living (BADL) were studied with the Barthel Index, while instrumental ADL (IADL) were examined with the Lawton–Brody scale. Functional differences for gender, age, and physico-mental occupation were examined. Results: The significant differences found for gender indicated that men did better in BADL ( p = 0.026) and women better performed IADL ( p < 0.001). Differences between age groups suggest that the younger group (aged 64–75) obtained better results for BADL ( p = 0.001) and IADL ( p < 0.001). For physico-mental occupation, statistically significant differences were found only in IADL for mental ( p = 0.034) and physical occupation ( p = 0.005). Conclusions: Gender, age, and the cognitive and physical demands of occupational stages, can be important predictors of cognitive and functional impairment. These results can be generalized to other health centers in the province and to other Spanish Autonomous Communities because their socio-demographic variables are similar. It would be interesting to carry out multimodal personalized interventions that consider the factors that might affect functional impairment to preserve personal autonomy.

Keywords: activities of daily living; aging; cardiovascular risk factors; occupations; age-related memory disorders; risk factors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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