TY - JOUR
T1 - High, usual and impaired functioning in community-dwelling older men and women
T2 - Findings from the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on successful aging
AU - Berkman, Lisa F.
AU - Seeman, Teresa E.
AU - Albert, Marilyn
AU - Blazer, Dan
AU - Kahn, Robert
AU - Mohs, Richard
AU - Finch, Caleb
AU - Schneider, Edward
AU - Cotman, Carl
AU - McClearn, Gerald
AU - Nesselroade, John
AU - Featherman, David
AU - Garmezy, Norman
AU - McKhann, Guy
AU - Brim, Gilbert
AU - Prager, Denis
AU - Rowe, John
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements-This work was supported by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Aging. It was approved by appropriate institutional review boards at Yale. Massachusetts General Hosnital and Duke University. The authors wish to thank Michael Nevitt, Mary Tinetti, Loretta DiPietro and Jack Guralnik for help in the development of several of the measures we used in this study.
PY - 1993/10
Y1 - 1993/10
N2 - The objective of this study is to determine the range of complex physical and cognitive abilities of older men and women functioning at high, medium and impaired ranges and to determine the psychosocial and physiological conditions that discriminate those in the high functioning group from those functioning at middle or impaired ranges. The subjects for this study were drawn from men and women aged 70-79 from 3 Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (EPESE) programs in East Boston MA, New Haven CT, and Durham County NC screened on the basis of criteria of physical and cognitive function. In 1988, 4030 men and women were screened as part of their annual EPESE interview. 1192 men and women met criteria for "high functioning". Age and sex-matched subjects were selected to represent the medium (n = 80) and low (n = 82) functioning groups. Physical and cognitive functioning was assessed from performance-based examinations and self-reported abilities. Physical function measures focused on balance, gait, and upper body strength. Cognitive exams assessed memory, language, abstraction, and praxis. Significant differences for every performance-based examination of physical and cognitive function were observed across functioning groups. Low functioning subjects were almost 3 times as likely to have an income of ≤$5000 compared to the high functioning group. They were less likely to have completed high school. High functioning subjects smoked cigarettes less and exercised more than others. They had higher levels of DHEA-S and peak expiratory flow rate. High functioning elders were more likely to engage in volunteer activities and score higher on scales of self-efficacy, mastery and report fewer psychiatric symptoms.
AB - The objective of this study is to determine the range of complex physical and cognitive abilities of older men and women functioning at high, medium and impaired ranges and to determine the psychosocial and physiological conditions that discriminate those in the high functioning group from those functioning at middle or impaired ranges. The subjects for this study were drawn from men and women aged 70-79 from 3 Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (EPESE) programs in East Boston MA, New Haven CT, and Durham County NC screened on the basis of criteria of physical and cognitive function. In 1988, 4030 men and women were screened as part of their annual EPESE interview. 1192 men and women met criteria for "high functioning". Age and sex-matched subjects were selected to represent the medium (n = 80) and low (n = 82) functioning groups. Physical and cognitive functioning was assessed from performance-based examinations and self-reported abilities. Physical function measures focused on balance, gait, and upper body strength. Cognitive exams assessed memory, language, abstraction, and praxis. Significant differences for every performance-based examination of physical and cognitive function were observed across functioning groups. Low functioning subjects were almost 3 times as likely to have an income of ≤$5000 compared to the high functioning group. They were less likely to have completed high school. High functioning subjects smoked cigarettes less and exercised more than others. They had higher levels of DHEA-S and peak expiratory flow rate. High functioning elders were more likely to engage in volunteer activities and score higher on scales of self-efficacy, mastery and report fewer psychiatric symptoms.
KW - Cognitive functioning
KW - Physical functioning
KW - Successful aging
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U2 - 10.1016/0895-4356(93)90112-E
DO - 10.1016/0895-4356(93)90112-E
M3 - Article
C2 - 8410098
AN - SCOPUS:0027423596
SN - 0895-4356
VL - 46
SP - 1129
EP - 1140
JO - Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
JF - Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
IS - 10
ER -