Physical Function and Daily Living in Postmenopausal Women with Osteoporotic Vertebral Fractures: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background/Objectives: Osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVFs) can cause persistent pain and loss of independence. This study quantified impairment in basic and instrumental activities of daily living and identified independent cross-sectional correlates in postmenopausal women with OVFs. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis included 184 postmenopausal women from a 200-patient OVF cohort at a spine clinic in Vietnam. Functional status was assessed using the Barthel Index (BI) and Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scale. Primary analyses used multivariable linear regression with HC3 robust inference; ordered-logistic and model-specification analyses assessed robustness. Results: Mean age was 69.95 ± 7.78 years and mean visual analog scale (VAS) pain score was 6.69 ± 1.58. Basic-activity dependence was present in 81.5% of participants (mean BI, 82.96 ± 16.45), and 66.8% had at least one IADL limitation (mean IADL, 5.84 ± 2.04). In the adjusted BI model, higher VAS pain intensity was the strongest observed correlate of poorer function (B = −7.996; β = −0.769; p < 0.001), and higher body mass index was associated with lower BI. In the adjusted IADL model, higher VAS pain intensity (B = −0.694; β = −0.538; p < 0.001) and older age were associated with lower scores. Ordinal sensitivity analyses confirmed the pain association, whereas the BMI finding was attenuated. Conclusions: Pain intensity was the strongest observed cross-sectional correlate of both functional domains. The findings support comprehensive functional assessment and hypothesis-driven longitudinal studies, but they do not establish that pain reduction will cause functional recovery.