title: Self-reported difficulty in climbing up or down stairs in nondisabled elderly.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine clinical and functional correlates of self-reported difficulty in climbing up or climbing down stairs in older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  Older adults (N=310; mean age, 79.7 y; 62% women), without disability or dementia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical and functional status as well as activity limitations (able to perform activities of daily living [ADLs] with some difficulty).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 310 subjects, 140 reported difficulties in climbing up and 83 in climbing down stairs (59 both). Self-reported difficulty in climbing up stairs was associated with hypertension, arthritis, and depressive symptoms. Difficulty in climbing up stairs was also associated with poor balance and grip strength as well as neurologic gait abnormalities. Subjects with difficulty climbing down stairs had more falls. Both activities were associated with leg claudication, fear of falling, non-neurologic gait abnormalities, and slow gait. Examined individually, self-reported difficulty climbing down stairs captured a wider spectrum of ADL limitations than climbing up stairs. However, combined difficulty in both phases of stair climbing had a stronger association with activity limitations (vs no difficulty; odds ratio, 6.58; 95% confidence interval, 3.35-12.91) than difficulty in any one phase alone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-reported difficulty in climbing up and down stairs revealed commonalities as well as differences in related clinical correlates. Difficulty in both climbing up and down stairs should be separately assessed to better capture clinical and functional status in older adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. jverghes@aecom.yu.edu
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verghese
authors.forename: Cuiling
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaonan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.forename: Roee
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Holtzer
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001168:Arthritis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D008124:Locomotion; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D018570:Risk Assessment