Objective To assess the disability status of elderly residents of Xi'an and to analyze the influencing factors.

Methods Elderly residents aged ≥60 years old who had check-ups at community health centers in Xi'an from March 1, 2022 to July 31, 2022 were selected to conduct a face-to-face questionnaire survey. The 12 items of World Health Organization Disability Rating Scale, Version 2 (12-item WHODAS 2.0) was used to assess the status and degree of disability, and a multifactorial logistic regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of different dimensions of disability in the elderly.

Results A total of 1 014 people were included in the survey, of whom 233 (22.98%) were disabled. The results showed that the disability rate and WHODAS 2.0 scores were higher for those who were ≥80 years old, were not in a marriage, had less than elementary school education, had income < expenditure, and suffered from ≥2 chronic diseases (all P < 0.05). The WHODAS 2.0 score of cognitive level (31.49±41.59) was significantly higher than the physical activity level (20.86±51.25) among the elderly residents in the community (t＝5.127, P < 0.01). Multivariate analysis showed that ≥70 years old (OR＝1.54-8.53), less than junior high school education (OR＝1.87-4.50), income < expenditure (OR＝1.58-2.66), and having more than two chronic diseases (OR＝3.03-4.99), were risk factors related to physical disability in the elderly; ≥80 years old (OR＝3.70-6.74), less than junior high school education (OR＝1.98-5.57), income < expenditure (OR＝1.85-3.68), and having more than two chronic diseases (OR＝2.77-3.92) were the risk factors of cognitive disability.

Conclusions The incidence of disability among elderly residents increases with age and deteriorating health, and low literacy and income levels are also important risk factors for disability. The cognitive level of disability is significantly higher than the physical activity level, so exploring efficient ways to improve the cognitive level of elderly residents will be one of the key tasks in the future to prevent and treat elderly disability.