March 3, 2026

Help Received and Functional Decline in Older Adults: A Longitudinal Analysis of (I)ADL Difficulties Across Europe, the US, and China

Key Points

Higher (I)ADL Difficulties Scores are linked to receiving formal or combined help, compared to no help.
A total of 4,395 adults aged 50+ were followed over an average of 10 years for the analysis.
Mixed-effects models assessed the relationship between help status and functional outcomes in older adults.
Understanding help characteristics may inform strategies to better support functional ability in aging populations.

Abstract

PurposeThis study examined whether different types of help received influence subsequent levels of functional ability in older adults.MethodsLongitudinal data were drawn from the US Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), and the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). A total of 4,395 adults aged 50+ were followed for 10 years on average. Mixed-effects models tested whether help status (no help, informal help only, formal help only, or both) predicted subsequent (Instrumental) Activities of Daily Living ((I)ADL) Difficulties Scores.ResultsIndividuals who had received formal help or combined formal and informal help in the previous wave showed higher subsequent (I)ADL Difficulties Scores than those who received no help.ConclusionHelp type was associated with later difficulty levels but did not alter age-related functional patterns. Further research may examine whether characteristics of the help provided can modify functional outcomes.

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Cite This Study

Hofbauer et al. (Tue,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69a75b16c6e9836116a21c33 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/07334648261416580

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