Tamara B. Harris|Mary Grace Kovar|Richard Suzman|Joel C. Kleinman|Jacob J. Feldman
Longitudinal study of physical ability in the oldest-old.
National Center for Health Statistics
based 1984 data longitudinal study aging onethird white persons aged 80 older living community n 1791 defined difficulty walking 14 mile lifting 10 pounds climbing 10 steps without resting stooping crouching kneeling physical ability associated lower risk death two years mean followup relative odds ro 4 95 percent confidence interval 4 6 survivors lower utilization hospitals ro 4 ci 3 7 physicians ro 6 ci 5 8 nursing homes ro 3 ci 2 5 compared difficulty four functional measures included definition physical ability fifty percent women 42 percent men physically able time baseline survey 1984 remained physically able followup continued physical ability group associated never cardiovascular disease ro 21 ci 12 37 never arthritic complaints ro 19 ci 12 27 body mass index less 75th percentile ro 18 ci 12 29 younger age decade age ro 20 ci 11 36 higher level education greater 13 years versus 06 years ro 24 ci 12 47 correlates include factors amenable preventive measures highlight need consider heterogeneity oldestold formulating programs aimed prevention postponement disability