Prevalence and associated factors of basic activities of daily living impairment in Chinese patients with comorbid T2DM and hypertension

Abstract This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the prevalence of basic activities of daily living (BADL) impairment and its associated factors in Chinese patients with comorbid type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypertension. The Katz ADL scale was used to assess BADL impairment. Totally 475 participants were consecutively enrolled from a secondary hospital in Hunan, China. The mean age of the study participants was 69.80 ± 9.10, 277 (58.3%) of them were females, and 82 (17.3%) had completed high school or above. The prevalence of BADL impairment was 17.47%. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that aged ≥ 70 and the presence of other chronic conditions were associated with higher odds of BADL impairment. Additionally, high school education or above and living alone were associated with lower odds of BADL impairment, which should be interpreted cautiously because these estimates were based on very few events. These findings indicate the need for additional support among those in high-risk groups, including regular physician review, in-home nursing, and allied health support. However, due to the nature of cross-sectional study design, causal effects cannot be drawn and the effects may be bi-directional. Future prospective studies are needed to determine the direction of the linkages.