Manipulative Dexterity and Handgrip Strength are Associated with Greatest Difficulty with Multiple Meal Preparation/Consumption Tasks in Homebound Seniors

Select manual tasks are necessary to prepare and consume meals. Although these tasks – opening cans, milk/juice cartons or jars, lifting a cup, and opening plastic, frozen, and single‐serving packages – are important for independent living, the relationship of both manipulative dexterity (MD) and grip strength (HG) to greatest difficulty in these tasks has not been explored in homebound seniors who rely on home‐delivered meals. This study examined data from the baseline in‐home assessment of MD, HG, self‐reported difficulty with meal preparation/consumption tasks (MPCT), and demographic and health‐related characteristics in a randomly recruited sample of 345 homebound seniors who received home‐delivered meals (81% female, 49% Black, age 78.28.4 y, 58% lived alone). Almost 25% of the sample reported the greatest difficulty with ≥2 MPCT (range 0–7 MPCT). Using adjusted logistic regression, the odds for reporting 2 MPCT were greater for older adults with lowest tertile of MD performance (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.24–4.62), lowest sex‐specific tertile of HG (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.31–4.56), being female, or using medications from ≥5 therapeutic categories (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.12–4.25). The results suggest that future efforts target improvement in MD and/or grip strength. In addition, food packaging should be evaluated to limit difficulty for individuals with limitations in MD or HG.