Sociodemographic effects on the dynamics of task-specific ADL functioning at the oldest-old ages: the case of China

Studies that systematically examine the dynamics of task-specific ADL functioning and its associates are very rare. Using the first three waves of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, this study examines the dynamics of each of the six ADL tasks (bathing, dressing, toileting, indoor transferring, eating, and continence) and their sociodemographic correlates among the oldest-old by including the ADL information both at the follow-up wave for survivors and at the time prior to death for those who died during survey intervals. Effects of age, gender, urban/rural residence, ethnicity, education, primary lifetime occupation, primary source of daily expenses, living alone, and marital status are examined in both the absence and presence of other various confounders. Our results show that each sociodemographic factor still plays some limited role in the dynamics of ADL functioning across tasks.