Prevalence and Factors Associated with Impairment in Intrinsic Capacity among Community-Dwelling Older Adults: An Observational Study from South India.

Background: Intrinsic capacity (IC) is conceptualized by World Health Organization (WHO) with a focus on healthy aging. Identifying impairment could help in making a person-centred plan for the care of older adults.

Objectives: Establish the prevalence of IC among community-dwelling older adults age >60, the prevalence of impairment in each domain, and identify factors associated with an impairment in IC.

Methods: This cross-sectional observational study in the community setting included 1000 older adults aged 60 years and above in two-year study period. The 6 domains of IC including cognition, locomotor capacity, psychological, vitality, hearing, and vision were derived from the comprehensive geriatric assessment. The IC composite score was calculated based on these domains, and a higher IC score indicated greater IC.

Results: During the study period, 1000 older adults, with the median age of 66.5 (IQR-63-73) were included, and 629 (62.9%) were women. Only in 157 (15.7%) community-dwelling older adults, all 6 domains were intact. Impairment in one, two, and three domains was seen in 442 (42.2%), 305 (30.5%), and 91 (9.1%), respectively. The most prevalent impaired domain was locomotor (593, 59.3%), followed by vision (441, 44.1%), hearing (193, 19.3%), cognition (106, 10.6%), mood (38, 3.8%), and vitality (37, 3.7%). The factors associated with lower IC included increasing age (β-coefficient -0.01, 95% CI: -0.02 to -0.01, p value = 0.002), impaired activities of daily living (β-coefficient -0.13, 95% CI: -0.49 to -0.18, p value <0.001), and chronic neurologic illness (β-coefficient -0.10, 95% CI: -0.77 to -0.18, p value = 0.001).

Conclusions: In conclusion, we found that impairment in IC was frequent in community-dwelling older adults, and it is associated with age, presence of chronic neurologic illness, and declining functionality. The adoption of IC should be seen as an opportunity to disseminate geriatric care in our healthcare systems which lack the necessary attention to the needs of older persons.