Assessment of the functional status of elderly subjects in Qassim region, Saudi Arabia.

A cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample of elderly subjects aged 65 years and above, resident in Qassim region, in central Saudi Arabia. The sample size was 266 subjects (12%). The study objective was to assess the subjects' functional activities in the form of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL). Wadu, the Muslim tradition of washing before the main five daily prayers was included in the ADL. The results showed that impairment of ADL, ADL and Wadu, and IADL was observed in 12.4%, 7.9% and 54.4% of subjects. Advancing age and female gender were found to be negatively, while male gender and having an occupation were found to be positively associated with functional activity.