In order to assess the physical health status of the elderly with the age 65 or above, activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) were measured. One hundred and thirty-five elderly residents from Metropolitan Seoul were selected for the study. 14 items from Modified Barthel Index (its modification form) and 14 items from Modified Lambeth Disability Screening Questionnaire (the 3rd edition) were used. Assessments were done thru individual interview.

The frequency of disability was the highest in `heavy homework(63.7%)' followed by `performing your job(47.4%)' in 28 items from Modified Barthel Index and Modified Lambeth Disability Screening Questionnaire. In reliability test, the value of Cronbach α was 0.4771 in Modified Barthel Index and 0.8917 in Modified Lambeth Disability Screening Questionnaire.

We have concluded that the IADL assessment of Modified Lambeth Disability Screening Questionnaire is more accurate than Modified Barthel Index in assessing physical health status and disability of the elderly.