Difficulty in performing activities of
daily living has been found to be a significant predictor of nursing home use, 1-3 use of
hospital services,4 ·5 use of
9 physician services,6 and mortality.7- An
increasing number of long-term care insurance policies rely on disability in activities of daily
living as a trigger for paying benefits. 10 Prevalence estimates of elderly persons with
impairments from national surveys range from 3 million 7 to
6 million. 11 While most data indicate that rates of disability in instrumental activities of
daily living (e.g., shopping or preparing meals) are higher for women than men, data about gender
differences in the incidence of disability in activities of daily living are inconclusive.5·7·12-16