The Purdue Pegboard Test: Normative data for people aged 60 and over

Abstract

Manual dexterity is frequently evaluated in rehabilitation services to estimate hand function. Several tests have been developed for this purpose, including the Purdue Pegboard, which measures fine manual dexterity. The goals of the study were to verify the test–retest reliability with subjects aged 60 and over without upper limb impairment, and to develop normative data based on a random sample of healthy older community-living individuals. The results show that the test–retest reliability is good (intra-class correlation coefficients from 0·66 to 0·90, depending on the subtest). Norms are presented to help clinicians involved in rehabilitation services to better differentiate real dexterity deficits from those that may be attributed to normal ageing.