Functional status of the elderly in Singapore--the trend over a decade

The study looks at the level and types of functional disabilities of a random sample of elderly individuals in the community through direct interviews using a questionnaire in 1992 and compares the results to that obtained from a similar study done in 1982. Two hundred and eighty-three elderly aged 60 years and above were studied. In the activities of daily living (ADL) functions category, most elderly individuals were independent in dressing (96.1%), bathing (95.4%), preparing meals (92.6%) and using the toilet (89.4%). There was increasing disabilities in the instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) functions, in ascending order of difficulty--light chores (81.3% independent), shopping (67.8% independent) and heavy chores (60.1% independent). Eight (2.8%) of the elderly were confined to bed most of the time. Comparing the results with the 1982 cohort, the 1992 cohort was more dependent, with significant increase in difficulty with dressing, using the toilet, bathing, and higher functional activities. There was also significant increase in the number of elderly confined to bed most of the time, from 1% to 2.8%. The only activity that showed a reverse trend was food preparation. The trend of dependence among the elderly is growing and deserves further specific studies to examine the possible reasons for the increasing disabilities in the elderly population, especially as the population is ageing rapidly.