Latin American Group for Maturity (GDLAM) protocol: a reliable method to assess the functional autonomy of community-dwelling older men

BACKGROUND: Functional autonomy (FA) in older adults can be assessed using the Latin American Group for Maturity Protocol (GDLAM). However, the nter-day reliability of the GDLAM protocol and its General Index of Functional Autonomy (GI) has not been determined in community-dwelling older men (OM). OBJECTIVE: To determine the inter-day reliability of the GDLAM protocol and the GI in OM, considering the effect of age on these parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty OM participated, divided into two age groups (All: 73.9 ± 6.9 years; G1 < 75 years: n = 30, 69.2 ± 3.6 years; G2 ≥ 75 years: n = 20, 81.0 ± 3.9 years). A repeated measures design was used to analyze the inter-day reliability of the five functional tests of the GDLAM protocol (in seconds) and the GI (in points). The statistical analysis included the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the coefficient of variation (CV). Reliability was considered acceptable when CV ≤ 10% and ICC ≥ 0.80, and high when CV ≤ 5% and ICC ≥ 0.90. RESULTS: The overall analysis and analysis by age group showed high inter-day reliability (All: CV = 4.38%, ICC = 0.91; G1: CV = 3.35%, ICC = 0.93; G2: CV = 4.33%, ICC = 0.92). CONCLUSION: The GDLAM protocol and GI show high inter-day reliability and reproducibility, supporting their use to assess FA in community-dwelling older adults.