INTERRELATIONSHIPS AMONG DISABLEMENT CONCEPTS

Background. Understanding interrelationships among disablement concept s is critical to the design of future disability treatment and prevent ion interventions. Methods. This study uses cross-sectional data to ex amine the relationships among physiologic impairments, functional limi tations, and disability in a moderately disabled sample of 207 communi ty-dwelling older adults. Results. As hypothesized, the data revealed statistically significant curvilinear relationships of upper and lower extremity strength and balance with mobility in this older sample. Mu ltivariate analyses further clarified the hypothesized causal mechanis m among the disablement concepts by demonstrating that most of the ass ociation of muscle strength and balance with disability was through th e intermediary role of mobility limitations. Conclusions. The findings from this study highlight the value of clinical trials that focus on prevention or treatment of mobility limitations as a means of preventi ng disability; our findings underscore the need for future research th at examines the effects of other variables believed to influence disab lement in late life.