Ability of daily living and its influencing factors among community elderlies in Bengbu city

Objective To investigate the status of ability of daily living (ADL)and its influencing factors among community elderlies in Bengbu city of Anhui province.Methods A total of 746 elderlies in a community in Bengbu city were recruited with random cluster sampling and a household survey was performed among the elderlies with a self-designed questionnaire,the Activity of Daily Living Scale (ADL),the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS),and the Status of Housebound Scale.Results The mean ADL score for the elderlies was 17.45±7.30 and 28,28% (211) of the elderlies showed the ADL damaged.The risk factors for having damaged ADL included old age (odds ratioOR=21.66,95% confidence interval95%CI=10.91-43.00),never doing physical exercise (OR=3.46,95%CI=1.90-6.27),suffering from chronic disease (OR=0.07,95%CI=0.03-0.16),and being housebound (OR=0.10,95%CI=0.05-0.20).Conclusion The status of ADL is associated with physical,social,and environment factors among community elderlies and corresponding measurements should be taken to prevent the damage of ADL in the population.