ArticleAging clinical and experimental research2026
The mediating role of activities of daily living in the association between intrinsic capacity and health-related quality of life: evidence from the WHO ICOPE pilot in China.
Article in Aging clinical and experimental research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIntrinsic capacity (IC) is a core concept of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE), representing the composite of an individual's physical and mental reserves. While deficits in IC are associated with reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL), the functional mechanisms underlying this relationship, particularly the role of functional independence as measured by activities of daily living (ADL) remains underexplored. We investigated whether ADL performance mediates the association between IC and HRQoL among Chinese older adults.
methodsIn this cross-sectional analysis, 468 community-dwelling and institutionalized adults aged 60 years and older were recruited from the WHO ICOPE pilot in Lianyungang, China. Cumulative IC impairment was evaluated across five domains (cognition, locomotion, nutrition, sensory function, and psychology) using the ICOPE screening tool. ADL dependence was quantified by the Modified Barthel Index, and HRQoL was measured using the EQ-5D-3 L instrument. Multivariable logistic regression was employed to estimate the association between IC and HRQoL, adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical covariates. A nonparametric bootstrap mediation analysis (5000 resamples) quantified the indirect effect of IC on HRQoL via ADL.
resultsAfter adjusting for covariates, each one-point increase in Cumulative IC Impairment Score was associated with 46% higher odds of impaired HRQoL (adjusted OR = 1.46; 95% CI: 1.26-1.69; p < 0.001). ADL dependence mediated approximately 34.1% of this association (indirect effect = 0.028; 95% CI: 0.006-0.050; p = 0.013). Subgroup analyses revealed that the IC-HRQoL association was significantly stronger among urban residents compared to suburban residents (interaction p = 0.004) and among community-dwelling older adults compared to nursing home residents (interaction p = 0.043).
conclusionsIntrinsic capacity impairment is associated with compromised HRQoL both directly and indirectly by exacerbating functional dependence. Preserving functional independence serves as a key pathway connecting intrinsic capacity to well-being. These findings highlight the imperative for integrated interventions that simultaneously bolster intrinsic capacity and support daily functional ability, tailored to diverse living environments to promote healthy aging.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.