Development of and Recovery From Difficulty With Activities of Daily Living: An Analysis

Background: National-level data are needed on predictors of mild physical impairment among older adults to assist policy makers with resource allocation. Method: We analyzed data on adults above age 64 from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) with no activity of daily living (ADL) difficulties at baseline (n = 14,226). Five ADLs were measured annually and recovery was defined as regaining complete ADL function at follow-up. Results: The strongest correlates of ADL difficulty were use of antipsychotic medications (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.93, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 1.44 to 2.58), instrumental ADL difficulty (AOR = 1.90, 95 % CI = 1.74 to 2.07), and fair-poor general health (AOR = 1.59, 95 % CI = 1.42 to 1.78). J Aging Health OnlineFirst, published on July 26, 2010 as doi:10.1177/0898264310375986 at PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIV on May 17, 2016jah.sagepub.comDownloaded fro