Predictors of function among the old-old: a 10-year follow-up.

A 10-year follow-up of 297 survivors from a community study of the aged found there was little or no decline in social and economic function and only moderate declines in mental, physical, and activities-of-daily-living function; demographic and socioeconomic characteristics were usually strong predictors of decline in function; and impairment in one type of function often predicted greater decline in other types of function. Mental impairment was an especially strong predictor of social decline, but not vice versa.