Functional profiles of healthy older persons

To learn whether the percentage of time spent at different functional levels varies as a function of age, we studied 44 older (mean age 70 years) and 46 younger (mean age 27 years) urban, community-dwelling volunteers who participated in a study of normative ageing of the cardiovascular system. Each subject completed one 24-hour activity diary which was coded using a standardized scoring system for functional activity levels and energy levels. Compared with younger persons, older persons spent larger percentage of their day performing basic (BADLs) and intermediate activities of daily living (IADLs) and less time in physical advanced activities of daily living and sleeping. Older women spent more time than younger women performing BADLs and more time than younger women or older men performing IADLs. These findings support the concept of functional changes associated with healthy ageing which may be more pronounced in women. Our results may also reflect a cohort effect that may disappear with the change of traditional sex roles.