A COMPARISON OF DISEASE-SPECIFIC FUNCTIONAL LIMITATIONS BETWEEN GERIATRIC AND NON-GERIATRIC PATIENTS WITH CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE: CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Purpose: Reports in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) demonstrate that nearly 60% of patients experience difficulty in one or more activities of daily living (ADLs), and functional inability is related with a worse prognosis. The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare disease-specific functional limitations between geriatric and non-geriatric patients with CHF.
Method: Sixty-eight patients with CHF were divided into two groups as geriatric (age≥65 years, n=29, group I) and non-geriatric (age<65 years, n=39, group II). The level of difficulty during ADLs was assessed using the Performance Measurement-8 Questionnaire for Activities of Daily Living (PMADL-8) and the disease specific health status using the Chronic Heart Failure Questionnaire (CHQ).
Results: The PMADL-8 scores of patients with CHF in group I were significantly higher than those in group II (p=0.001). The CHQ dyspnea scores of patients in group I were lower than those in group II (p=0.024). The scores of the CHQ fatigue, emotional status, mastery subdimensions, and total scores were similar between groups (p>0.05).
Discussion: Geriatric patients with CHF have greater disease-specific functional limitations during daily life and poorer disease-related quality of life compared with their non-geriatric counterparts. Rehabilitation experts must pay special attention in the geriatric CHF group, with an emphasis on functional limitation during daily activities.