Relationship between Cardiovascular Risk and ADLs' Disability among Middle-aged and Older Adults in China: Evidence from a Longitudinal Study

Abstract Backgrounds: The effect of FGCRS on disability will not be immediate and may have a lag time between the experienced cardiovascular risk and the ultimate health outcome. However, how this effect changes over time is not known. Based on data from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we aimed to investigate the association between cardiovascular risk and activities of daily living disability among Chinese middle-aged and older adults and to examine the lag effect of cardiovascular risk on individual ADLs’ disability. Methods: Means ± standard deviation were used to describe continuous variables and numbers (percentages) to categorical variables. Logistic regression analysis and a distributed-lag model were used to estimate the correlations and lag effect between FGCRS and ADLs disability (BADL and IADL). All statistical analyses were performed using STATA 17.0, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In 2018, Out of 6,123 participants, 23.54% reported at least one difficulty in basic activities of daily living and 28.04% had at least one difficulty in instrumental activities of daily living. After adjusting for all the covariates, a positive correlation was identified between FGCRS and ADL disability (BADL: OR = 1.023, IADL: OR = 1.028), and the correlation varied by age, gender, living regions, and income. In the longitudinal research, baseline CVD risk was significantly associated with the risk of ADL disability in 2 to 7 years. Conclusions: Elevated cardiovascular risk was significantly associated with subsequent functional limitations in middle-aged and older Chinese adults.