Stroke and activity limitation in Chinese adults 65 Years or older.
Alexander C Ewing, Yaxi Li, Xingxing Chen and 4 others
PMID 36934017WHAT IT FOUND
Older Chinese adults with stroke had markedly higher rates of needing help with daily tasks than those with other conditions.
They were four times more likely to have severe activity limitations than healthy peers. IADL issues were common across all groups.
Key findings
01Stroke survivors had a 17.1% prevalence of ADL limitation, compared to 4.8% for those with other chronic conditions and 3.3% for those with none.
02After adjustment, stroke participants were 4.11 times more likely to have ADL limitation than those without chronic conditions.
03Stroke survivors were most likely to have severe limitation in bathing (10.5%) and dressing (7.3%).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Chronic condition status and activity limitations were self-reported, which may introduce recall or reporting bias. 24% of the initial sample was excluded due to missing data or unreliable age reports, and those excluded had a higher prevalence of activity limitation. The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot establish causality or track recovery over time. Results may not generalize to all of China, as six provinces with sizeable ethnic minority populations were excluded from the sample.
Declared interests
The research was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that IADL limitations are unique to stroke survivors. While ADL limitations were much higher in the stroke group, IADL-only limitations were also common in people with other chronic conditions (31.5%) and even healthy adults (21.4%). Screening for IADL issues is relevant to a broader older adult population, not just those with stroke.