Physical Performance Measures in Aging Research

TLDR

Physical functioning assessment is crucial in geriatrics and aging research, traditionally relying on self‑report, but performance measures—objective task‑based tests—offer significant advantages despite limited methodological development. The study advocates broader adoption of physical performance assessments as functional measures in cross‑national research, longitudinal change indicators, intervention endpoints, high‑functioning identification tools, and clinically relevant information sources. Existing performance assessments strongly correlate with health status and predict long‑term care needs and mortality.

Abstract

Evaluation of physical functioning plays a valuable role in clinical geriatrics as well as in aging research. Physical functioning has generally been assessed through self- or proxy-report. An important addition to this form of assessment is the use of performance measures of physical function, in which individuals are asked to actually perform specific tasks and are evaluated using standardized criteria. Although there has been limited methodological work on physical performance instruments, this approach offers a number of potential advantages. Several performance assessments have been developed that correlate highly with other measures of health status and predict need for long-term care and mortality. It is suggested that more widespread use be made of physical performance assessments and that they be evaluated as measures of functioning in cross-national studies, as indicators of change in functioning over time, as endpoints in intervention studies, as tools for identifying persons functioning at high levels, and as sources of relevant information for the clinician.