Background The development of disability related to activities of daily living (ADL) is of great concern in the aging population, particularly for Hispanic and Non-Hispanic (NH) Black older adults, where disability prevalence is greater compared to NH Whites. ADL-disability is typically measured across many functional tasks without differentiating upper- versus lower-limb limitations, hindering our understanding of disability burden. Despite the importance of the upper limbs for completing ADL and known age-related declines in function, racial/ethnic differences in upper limb function remain largely unknown. Methods We identified 4,292 NH White, NH Black, and Mexican American older adults (≥65) from the 2011-2018 waves of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). We classified participants as having a limitation based on their ability to complete five upper limb tasks (preparing meals, eating, dressing, reaching overhead, grasping small objects) and compared limitation rates across racial/ethnic groups. Results Compared to NH Whites, NH Black older adults had significantly greater odds of reporting difficulties preparing meals (OR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.86) and dressing (OR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.19, 2.02), while Mexican Americans had greater difficulty preparing meals (OR: 1.70, 95% CI: 1.12, 2.58), dressing (OR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.12, 2.36), and grasping small objects (OR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.06, 2.07). Conclusions Our results demonstrate differences in self-reported upper limb ADL-disability across racial/ethnic groups, particularly for Mexican American older adults. Such findings underscore the need for routine monitoring of upper limb function throughout adulthood to identify limitations and target therapeutic interventions before independence is compromised.

中文翻译：

---

美国老年人自述上肢受限的种族/民族差异

背景 与日常生活活动 (ADL) 相关的残疾的发展在老龄化人口中备受关注，特别是对于西班牙裔和非西班牙裔 (NH) 黑人老年人来说，与 NH 白人相比，他们的残疾患病率更高。 ADL 残疾通常是通过许多功能任务来衡量的，没有区分上肢和下肢的限制，这阻碍了我们对残疾负担的理解。尽管上肢对于完成日常生活活动很重要，并且已知与年龄相关的功能下降，但上肢功能的种族/民族差异仍然很大程度上未知。方法 我们从 2011-2018 年国家健康和营养检查调查 (NHANES) 的浪潮中确定了 4,292 名新罕布什尔州白人、新罕布什尔州黑人和墨西哥裔美国老年人 (≥65 岁)。我们根据参与者完成五项上肢任务（准备饭菜、吃饭、穿衣、伸过头顶、抓握小物体）的能力将他们归类为有限制，并比较了不同种族/族裔群体的限制率。结果 与新罕布什尔州白人相比，新罕布什尔州黑人老年人在准备膳食（OR：1.36，95％CI：1.01，1.86）和穿衣（OR：1.55，95％CI：1.19，2.02）方面有困难的几率明显更高，而墨西哥人美国人在准备饭菜（OR：1.70，95％CI：1.12，2.58）、穿衣（OR：1.63，95％CI：1.12，2.36）和抓握小物体（OR：1.48，95％CI：1.06）方面存在更大困难， 2.07）。结论 我们的结果表明，不同种族/族裔群体自我报告的上肢 ADL 残疾存在差异，尤其是墨西哥裔美国老年人。这些发现强调了在整个成年期对上肢功能进行常规监测的必要性，以便在独立性受到损害之前识别局限性并采取有针对性的治疗干预措施。