Over 40 percent of people aged 65 and older report limitations in their ability to carry out activities of daily life, such as walking, stooping, shopping, and cooking. As a result, they may lose their independence, experience decreased quality of life and face substantial health care expenses. Preventing disability is important given that once individuals become disabled, it is difficult to reverse these declines in function. Preventing or delaying the onset of these limitations in physical function are top priorities in the new millennium as the number of older adults with physical disability is expected to rise sharply over the next 20 years.
Dr. Linda Fried received funding from the National Institute on Aging in 1994 to begin to understand the natural history of changes in physical function in the Women's Health and Aging Study II. This study of a representative sample of 436 initially healthy older women in eastern Baltimore, Maryland has yielded important insights in understanding how limitations in activities of daily life progress to physical disability. As participants enter their 7th year in the study, Dr. Fried and colleagues in the Center on Aging and Health have successfully developed sensitive methods for earlier detection of changes in function that predict subsequent difficulty. These methods will help us identify factors that put individuals at increased risk of physical disability and to design interventions to delay or prevent disability and prolong independence. |
