Introduction:

Functional impairment produces a wide range of negative effects such as difficulty in mobility, social isolation, decreased quality of life, disability and institutionalization. Thus, functional status measurement is a marker of social wellbeing.

Objective:

To determine and characterize the socio-demographic factors and health conditions related to functional impairment in older adults in Bogotá, Colombia.

Materials and methods:

Data was collected from the SABE Bogotá Study. Functional status was assessed using the Barthel and Lawton scales. Independent variables included socio-demographic factors, comorbidities, anthropometric measurements and physical activity (by tertiles). Bivariate analyzes were performed, and multivariate results were obtained using linear regression models.

Results:

There were 2,000 participants aged 60 years and older, with a mean age of 71.2 ± 8 years. Younger age (standardized beta = -0.15, p<0.01), fewer medications (beta= -0.13, p<0.01), higher MMSE score (beta = 0.3, p< 0.01), higher level of physical activity (middle beta tertile = 0.18, p<0.01, and higher beta tertile= 0.18, p<0.01vs lower tertile) and better performance in the handgrip test (beta=0.10, p<0.01) were associated with better function in daily life instrumental activities. Similarly, higher MMSE score (beta= 0.3, p<0.01) and better performance in the handgrip test (beta= 0.07, p= 0.02) were associated with better function in daily life basic activities.

Conclusions:

We found several factors related with functional impairment, which are likely to be modified to reduce dependence in this population.

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