It remains unclear whether limitations in
activities of daily living (
ADL) increase the risk of
stroke in older Chinese adults. This longitudinal study used data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey to investigate the effects of limitations in
ADL on the incidence of
stroke in older adults. Between 2002 and 2011, 46,728 participants from 22 provinces in China were included in this study. Of participants, 11,241 developed limitations in
ADL at baseline. A 3-year follow-up was performed to determine the incidence of
stroke. During the 3-year follow-up, 929 participants (8.26%) and 2434 participants (6.86%) experienced
stroke in the
ADL limitations group and non-
ADL limitations group, respectively. Logistic regression was used to analyze the effect of
ADL limitations on the risk of
stroke. The results showed that after adjusting for the confounding factors gender, age, weight,
hypertension, diabetes,
heart disease, natural teeth,
hearing impairment,
visual impairment, smoking,
alcohol abuse, exercise, ethnicity, literacy, residential area, and poverty, the
ADL limitations group had a 77% higher risk of developing
stroke than the non-
ADL limitations group. After propensity score matching, the
ADL limitations group still had a 33% higher risk of developing
stroke than the non-
ADL limitations group (OR = 1.326, 95% CI: 1.174-1.497). These findings suggest that limitations in
ADL are a
stroke risk factor.