Assessment of Individual Activities of Daily Living and its Association with Self-Rated Health in Elderly People of Taiwan

Functional status is an important component of health status of the elderly. However, few studies have discussed the correlation between health status and each item of the activities of daily living scales (ADLs). The aim of this study was to investigate both the prevalence of functional disability in each activity of daily living (ADL) item and the association between each ADL item and the self-rated health of the elderly. A stratified random sample of 302 male and 298 female elderly residents, aged 65 and older, in Miaoli County was drawn. Baseline characteristics, functional status of each ADL item, and self-rated health of the participants were collected. The results showed that the self-rated health status was excellent, good, or fair in 72.3% of the sample, and bad or poor in 27.7%. The most common disability among basic ADLs was transfers (9.3%); the most common disability among instrumental ADLs (IADLs) was transportation (24.7%). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that bathing, feeding, dressing, bowel and bladder control, transfers, transportation, and responsibility for own medication, were independently associated factors of self-rated health. Bowel and bladder control (odds ratio, 4.72; 95% confidence interval, 1.76–12.67) and feeding (odds ratio, 4.27; 95% confidence interval, 1.61–11.37) were the leading items correlated with self-rated health. In summary, in terms of self-rated health, the most important ADLs were bowel and bladder control and feeding. Further study is warranted to investigate the effects of restoring specific health-related ADL to improve the health of the elderly.