Factors influencing activities of daily living in community-dwelling older adults with dementia.

This study aimed to identify the level of activities of daily living (ADLs) of community-dwelling older adults living with dementia, factors affecting ADLs, and changes in ADLs. Data on 186 community-dwelling older adults with dementia in Korea were analyzed, of which 63 were followed up after 12 months to determine the changes in ADLs and their influencing factors. The mean ADLs score of 10.24±3.52 indicated dependency in performing ADLs, especially using the toilet (t = 2.20, p = .031) and bowel/bladder control (t = 2.50, p = .015), which worsened significantly after 1 year. Generalized estimating equations analysis showed that dependency in ADLs increased with vascular dementia (β = 1.16, p = .029) and with increasing dementia severity (β = 0.60, p = .003). These findings suggest the potential for early detection of individuals vulnerable to dependency in ADLs and indicate an urgent need for the development of home and community-based care services to help older adults with dementia to continue to live in the community.