Effect of social participation on the trajectories of activities of daily living disability among community-dwelling older adults: a 7-year community-based cohort

Studies examining the effects of social participation on activities of daily living (ADL) disability are still scarce.

To assess the reciprocal relationship between ADL disability trajectories and social participation among older Chinese people aged ≥ 60 years.

This study included 2976 participants aged ≥ 60 years in six waves of a community-based survey from 2015 to 2022. Basic activities of daily living (BADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) were used to assess the ADL disability in each survey. Social participation was assessed by involvement in four social activities and an extensive social participation score. Group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify potential heterogeneity in longitudinal changes over 7 years and explore associations between baseline predictors of group membership and these trajectories.

Two BADL disability trajectories were identified: stable (94.8%) and increase (5.2%). Additionally, three IADL disability trajectories were distinguished: stable (73.2%), moderate (20.2%), and increase (6.6%). After controlling for the potential covariates, each point increase in the extensive social participation score correlated with a 17% decrease in the odds of older individuals belonging to the increase BADL trajectory group (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.68–1.00). For IADL, it decreased the odds of being assigned to the moderate trajectory group by 16% (OR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.75–0.95) and to the increase trajectory group by 23% (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.64–0.93).

Higher levels of social participation among older individuals were more likely to be classified as stable trajectories in both BADL and IADL. Increased participation in social activities by community-dwelling elderly adults may promote healthy aging.