Physical Health and Cognitive Function Independently Contributed to Functional Disability among Chinese Older Adults: Data from Two Asian Metropolises
Table 1
Characteristics of the participants.
Shanghai ()
Singapore ()
Age (years)
68.3 (7.8)
65.6 (7.2)
<0.001
Range (years)
55–93
55–97
55–64
1167 (31.6%)
1158 (48.3%)
<0.001
65–74
2074 (44.7%)
938 (39.1%)
75+
1098 (23.7%)
301 (12.6%)
Female
2510 (54.1%)
1495 (62.4%)
<0.001
Number of chronic diseases
1.29 (1.18)
1.16 (1.09)
<0.001
Self-rated health status*
2.59 (0.77)
2.38 (0.65)
<0.001
Excellent or very good
164 (3.5%)
145 (6.0%)
<0.001
Good
2241 (48.3%)
1257 (52.4%)
Fair
1569 (33.8%)
925 (38.6%)
Poor
665 (14.3%)
70 (2.9%)
MMSE total score
26.6 (2.8)
27.6 (2.2)
<0.001
Functional disability† (whole sample)
233 (5.0%)
43 (1.8%)
<0.001
Within age group 55–64
15 (1.0%)
14 (1.2%)
0.65
Within age group 65–74
82 (4.0%)
18 (1.9%)
0.004
Within age group: 75+
136 (12.4%)
11 (3.7%)
<0.001
Disability in any of the ADL items
Eating
11 (0.2%)
5 (0.2%)
0.81
Grooming
29 (0.6%)
8 (0.3%)
0.11
Dressing
38 (0.8%)
11 (0.5%)
0.09
Transferring
37 (0.8%)
9 (0.4%)
0.04
Walking
43 (0.9%)
14 (0.6%)
0.13
Toileting
38 (0.8%)
17 (0.7%)
0.62
Bathing
162 (3.5%)
9 (0.4%)
<0.001
Climbing stairs
144 (3.1%)
28 (1.2%)
<0.001
*Range from 1 (excellent or very good) to 4 (poor), with higher value representing poorer health. †Defined as needing assistance in performing at least one of the eight Activities of Daily Living. Data are mean (SD) or number (%). MMSE: Mini-Mental State Examination.
