Abstract
Verghese J, Wang C, Xue X, Holtzer R. Self-reported difficulty in climbing up or down
stairs in nondisabled elderly.
Objective
To examine clinical and functional correlates of self-reported difficulty in climbing
up or climbing down stairs in older adults.
Design
Cross-sectional survey.
Setting
Community sample.
Participants
Older adults (N=310; mean age, 79.7y; 62% women), without disability or dementia.
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
Clinical and functional status as well as activity limitations (able to perform activities
of daily living [ADLs] with some difficulty).
Results
Of the 310 subjects, 140 reported difficulties in climbing up and 83 in climbing down
stairs (59 both). Self-reported difficulty in climbing up stairs was associated with
hypertension, arthritis, and depressive symptoms. Difficulty in climbing up stairs
was also associated with poor balance and grip strength as well as neurologic gait
abnormalities. Subjects with difficulty climbing down stairs had more falls. Both
activities were associated with leg claudication, fear of falling, non-neurologic
gait abnormalities, and slow gait. Examined individually, self-reported difficulty
climbing down stairs captured a wider spectrum of ADL limitations than climbing up
stairs. However, combined difficulty in both phases of stair climbing had a stronger
association with activity limitations (vs no difficulty; odds ratio, 6.58; 95% confidence
interval, 3.35−12.91) than difficulty in any one phase alone.
Conclusions
Self-reported difficulty in climbing up and down stairs revealed commonalities as
well as differences in related clinical correlates. Difficulty in both climbing up
and down stairs should be separately assessed to better capture clinical and functional
status in older adults.
Key Words
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Article info
Footnotes
Supported by National Institutes on Aging (grant nos. AGO3949, RO1 AGO25119) and a Paul B. Beeson Career Development Award (grant no. NIA-K23 AG024848).
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the authors or upon any organization with which the authors are associated.
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
