4 Normal age-related changes in executive function include decline in tasks that involve attention-switching (multitasking), difficulty in instrumental activities of daily living, slower response times, reduced speed of information processing, and reduced inhibitory control.
Unlike the secondary importance of age on short-term mortality, age per se is a risk factor for long-term mortality – the risk of death increasing with the number of comorbidities, a low cognitive function and the difficulty in instrumental activity.
Difficulties in instrumental ADL are among the first symptoms to appear in Latino-American older adults with chronic conditions (Menendez et al 2005).
Sarcopenia is an independent risk factor for adverse outcomes, including difficulties in instrumental and basic ADL [ 6, 10, 16, 20, 21 ], osteoporosis [17], falls [ 21 ], hospital length of stay and re-admission [ 22 ] and death [ 6 ].
Difficulties in instrumental activities of daily living are broader than ADL limitations and concern domestic activities which allow an individual to live independently [ 14]: difficulty or need of assistance for preparing meals, using the telephone, shopping, managing medication, doing light housework, doing occasional heavy housework, taking care of finances and everyday administrative tasks.
It rendered him unable to generate a steady pulse, prevented adequate discrimination and reproduction of novel metrical rhythms, and partly contributed to bi-manual co-ordination difficulties in his instrumental performance.
According to their SMAF, they had most frequently difficulties in their instrumental activities of daily living (Table 3).
As an older person experiences decline in physical function, s/he encounters increasing difficulty in engaging in the instrumental activities of daily living, and may address these difficulties by avoiding or limiting these activities.
Being older, illiterate, having difficulty in one or more instrumental activities of daily living, the presence of cardiovascular disease and being sedentary are independent factors associated with lower walking speed among the elderly.
The ability bias in the effect of field of study on wages has not been tested yet by IV methods due to difficulties in finding credible instrumental variables.
JHL involved in instrumental characterization.
