Tiredness in daily activities among nondisabled old people as determinant of onset of disability

The purpose of this article was to examine whether self-reported tiredness in daily activities at age 75 is an independent determinant of onset of disability at 5-year follow-up. The investigation is based on two subgroups of nondisabled participants of 75 year olds who survived and participated in the follow-up study 5 years later (n = 5 10 and 429). Persons who felt tired in their daily activities had a larger risk of becoming disabled in mobility (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.4-7.6) and in daily activities (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.0-4.2) compared to persons without tiredness. In addition, persons with poor cognitive function, little diversity in social relations and no physical activity had an independent risk of onset of disability. The results indicate that it is important to take it seriously when older people complain about tiredness in daily activities, as these people are at higher risk of becoming disabled than others. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.