Prevalence and Distribution of Intrinsic Capacity and Its Associations with Health Outcomes in Older People: The Jockey Club Community eHealth Care Project in Hong Kong

To determine the prevalence and distribution of intrinsic capacity (IC) impairments and examine their associations with health outcomes.Community-dwelling people aged 60 years and older were interviewed at baseline and followed up for one to three years. IC domains including cognitive, locomotor, vitality, sensory (vision, hearing), and psychological capacities were assessed at baseline. Incident polypharmacy, incontinence, poor/fair self-rated health, and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) difficulty were ascertained at each follow-up.10,007 participants were interviewed at baseline. Overall mean age was 75.7±7.9 years. At baseline, 85.3% had impairments in one or more IC domains, where cognitive capacity was the domain that was most frequently affected (71.3%). The prevalence of impairments in one or more domains increased with age (p<0.001) and was higher among women than men (p<0.001). Among the 1,601 participants who were interviewed at each follow-up, those with impairments in three or more domains had the greatest risk for the incidence of polypharmacy (adjusted OR 2.2, 95%CI 1.1-4.2), incontinence (adjusted OR 3.0, 95%CI 1.8-5.0), poor/fair self-rated health (adjusted OR 3.7, 95%CI 1.9-7.2), and IADL difficulty (adjusted OR 3.3, 95%CI 1.8-6.1) compared with those without IC impairments.IC impairments are highly prevalent and those with IC impairments had increased risks of polypharmacy, incontinence, poor/fair self-rated health, and IADL difficulty. The findings could potentially lead to a refinement and the adoption of IC as a screening measure which could be served as a target of intervention in the care for older people.