Comparison of Functional Performance Across Age Groups in Older Adults: A Community-Based Study

Area of Science:

• Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine
• Rehabilitation Science
• Clinical Biomechanics

Background:

• Functional decline is a significant concern in aging populations, impacting independence and quality of life.
• Identifying reliable and early indicators of functional decline is crucial for timely intervention in older adults.
• Existing functional performance tests may have varying sensitivities to detect decline across different age strata.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between five clinical functional performance tests and functional decline in community-dwelling older adults.
• To examine how these associations differ across distinct age groups (60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79 years).
• To identify which tests serve as early indicators of functional decline.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 191 community-dwelling older adults stratified into four age groups.
• Assessment of lower-limb function using five tests: single-leg stance, gait speed, tandem gait, Timed Up and Go (TUG), and forward step.
• Binary logistic regression analysis was employed to determine the association between age group and test performance, with adjustments for covariates.

Main Results:

• Impaired single-leg stance performance was significantly associated with functional decline in the 65-69 age group (OR, 3.41).
• Decline in forward step performance was noted in the 70-74 age group (OR, 3.75).
• The 75-79 age group showed significant associations with impaired tandem gait (OR, 3.45) and TUG performance (OR, 4.97).

Conclusions:

• The relationship between functional performance tests and functional decline is age-dependent.
• The single-leg stance test is a sensitive early indicator of functional decline, detectable from age 65.
• These findings support the utility of the single-leg stance test as an early screening tool in primary care for older adults.