Research news: Good functional performance decreases the risk of mortality also among nonagenarians
The 9-year follow-up study in the Vitality 90+ Study showed that also in nonagenarians older age, male gender, the activities of daily living (ADL) disability and mobility disability, poor self-rated health and institutionalization increased the risk of mortality.
Especially in men, disability in ADL and mobility were stronger predictors of mortality than in women (gender interactions, p <0.001). Among those who were partly but not totally dependent in ADL and mobility, women survived longer than men. The study points out the role of functional status as primary indicator of health that is able to capture the general dysfunctions reducing the viability of an individual; functioning is the most important target for interventions at very old age.
Original publication:
Tiainen K, Luukkaala T, Hervonen A, Jylhä M. Predictors of mortality in men and women aged 90 and older: A nine-year follow-up study in the Vitality 90+ Study. Age and Ageing 2013; doi: 10.1093/ageing/aft030
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Kristina Tiainen
School of Health Sciences, Gerontology Research Center, University of Tampere, Finland
kristina.tiainen@uta.fi, tel: +358 40 190 1648, www.gerec.fi
