Abstract / Summary
As South Korea has developed into a super-aged society, preserving functional ability among older adults has become an important public health priority. This study examined sex-specific sociodemographic, physical, and mental health factors associated with activity limitation among 1653 older adults aged 65 years or older, using data from the 2024 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Sex-stratified hierarchical multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted, with Model I including sociodemographic factors and Model II additionally including physical and mental health factors. Among men, older age, lower income quartile, low-frequency annual alcohol drinking, poor self-rated health, moderate pain/discomfort, higher depressive symptom severity, and higher perceived stress were significantly associated with activity limitation. Among women, older age, a greater number of chronic diseases, very poor self-rated health, moderate or severe pain/discomfort, fall experience, and higher depressive symptom severity were significantly associated with activity limitation, whereas perceived stress was not significant. Self-rated health, pain/discomfort, and depressive symptoms were associated with activity limitation in both sexes, although the specific patterns differed. These findings indicate that factors associated with activity limitation are not entirely uniform between men and women and support consideration of sex-specific patterns in assessing functional health among older adults.