TABLE 1.
Baseline characteristics of mobility device users, by types of mobility devices.
| Total N = 2,943 |
WAs N = 1,877 |
Mixed N = 873 |
WSMDs N = 193 |
P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| Age, Mean (SD) | 80.3 (7.2) | 79.8 (7.0) | 81.1 (7.4) | 81.3 (8.0) | <0.001 |
| Female, N (%) | 1,697 (57.7%) | 1,084 (57.8%) | 503 (57.6%) | 110 (57.0%) | 0.98 |
| Race and Ethnicity, N (%) | 0.82 | ||||
| White, non-Hispanic | 2,066 (70.2%) | 1,300 (69.3%) | 634 (72.6%) | 132 (68.4%) | |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 590 (20.0%) | 393 (20.9%) | 157 (18.0%) | 40 (20.7%) | |
| Other, non-Hispanic | 81 (2.8%) | 54 (2.9%) | 20 (2.3%) | 7 (3.6%) | |
| Hispanic | 167 (5.7%) | 104 (5.5%) | 51 (5.8%) | 12 (6.2%) | |
| Multiracial | 1 (0.0%) | 1 (0.1%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | |
| Education Level, N (%) | 0.064 | ||||
| Less than high school | 761 (25.9%) | 473 (25.2%) | 235 (26.9%) | 53 (27.5%) | |
| High school diploma | 779 (26.5%) | 485 (25.8%) | 255 (29.2%) | 39 (20.2%) | |
| Some college and Bachelor’s | 1,074 (36.5%) | 694 (37.0%) | 297 (34.0%) | 83 (43.0%) | |
| Graduate education | 294 (10.0%) | 198 (10.5%) | 79 (9.0%) | 17 (8.8%) | |
| Marital Status, N (%) | <0.05 | ||||
| Married or with a partner | 1,356 (46.1%) | 868 (46.2%) | 400 (45.8%) | 88 (45.6%) | |
| Single | 455 (15.5%) | 314 (16.7%) | 109 (12.5%) | 32 (16.6%) | |
| Widowed | 1,131 (38.4%) | 695 (37.0%) | 363 (41.6%) | 73 (37.8%) | |
| Household Income, N (%) | 0.98 | ||||
| Poorest 0–25% | 459 (15.6%) | 292 (15.6%) | 141 (16.2%) | 26 (13.5%) | |
| 25%–50% | 516 (17.5%) | 326 (17.4%) | 157 (18.0%) | 33 (17.1%) | |
| 50%–75% | 425 (14.4%) | 267 (14.2%) | 129 (14.8%) | 29 (15.0%) | |
| 75%–100% Richest | 359 (12.2%) | 231 (12.3%) | 106 (12.1%) | 22 (11.4%) | |
| Number of Children, N (%) | 0.23 | ||||
| No children | 243 (8.3%) | 169 (9.0%) | 58 (6.6%) | 16 (8.3%) | |
| Single child | 343 (11.7%) | 225 (12.0%) | 99 (11.3%) | 19 (9.8%) | |
| Two or more children | 2,357 (80.1%) | 1,483 (79.0%) | 716 (82.0%) | 158 (81.9%) | |
| Metropolitan Status, N (%) | 2,353 (80.0%) | 1,502 (80.0%) | 688 (78.8%) | 163 (84.5%) | 0.21 |
| Community Environment, Mean (SD) | 7.0 (1.9) | 7.0 (1.9) | 7.1 (1.9) | 7.2 (1.7) | 0.31 |
| Housing Type, N (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| Free-standing single house | 2,190 (74.4%) | 1,379 (73.5%) | 661 (75.7%) | 150 (77.7%) | |
| House attached to others | 252 (8.6%) | 167 (8.9%) | 69 (7.9%) | 16 (8.3%) | |
| Mobile home/trailer | 158 (5.4%) | 83 (4.4%) | 66 (7.6%) | 9 (4.7%) | |
| Multi-unit building | 332 (11.3%) | 238 (12.7%) | 77 (8.8%) | 17 (8.8%) | |
| Other | 11 (0.4%) | 10 (0.5%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (0.5%) | |
| Vehicle Ownership, N (%) | 2,309 (80.6%) | 1,481 (81.4%) | 685 (80.2%) | 143 (75.7%) | 0.15 |
| Living Arrangement, N (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| Living alone | 1,019 (34.6%) | 685 (36.5%) | 284 (32.5%) | 50 (25.9%) | |
| Living with a spouse/partner | 1,067 (36.3%) | 697 (37.1%) | 305 (34.9%) | 65 (33.7%) | |
| Living with a spouse/partner and others | 265 (9.0%) | 153 (8.2%) | 91 (10.4%) | 21 (10.9%) | |
| Living with others | 591 (20.1%) | 341 (18.2%) | 193 (22.1%) | 57 (29.5%) | |
| General Health, Mean (SD) | 3.0 (1.0) | 2.9 (1.0) | 3.1 (1.0) | 3.2 (1.1) | <0.001 |
| Chronic Diseases, Mean (SD) | 2.0 (1.2) | 1.9 (1.2) | 2.0 (1.3) | 2.2 (1.2) | <0.01 |
| Surgery History, Mean (SD) | 0.6 (0.8) | 0.6 (0.8) | 0.6 (0.8) | 0.6 (0.9) | 0.91 |
| Hip Fracture History, N (%) | 166 (5.6%) | 108 (5.8%) | 51 (5.8%) | 7 (3.6%) | 0.45 |
| Other Fracture History, N (%) | 742 (25.2%) | 477 (25.4%) | 223 (25.6%) | 42 (21.8%) | 0.52 |
| Fall History, N (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| No fall | 1,858 (63.1%) | 1,208 (64.4%) | 516 (59.1%) | 134 (69.4%) | |
| One fall | 723 (24.6%) | 466 (24.8%) | 221 (25.3%) | 36 (18.7%) | |
| Multiple falls | 357 (12.1%) | 201 (10.7%) | 135 (15.5%) | 21 (10.9%) | |
| Fear of Falling, N (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| No fear of falling | 1858 (63.1%) | 1,344 (65.7%) | 330 (60.0%) | 184 (52.9%) | |
| Fear of falling presents | 723 (24.6%) | 486 (23.8%) | 138 (25.1%) | 99 (28.4%) | |
| Fear of falling limits activities | 357 (12.1%) | 213 (10.4%) | 82 (14.9%) | 62 (17.8%) | |
| Pain, N (%) | <0.05 | ||||
| No pain | 1,186 (40.3%) | 719 (38.3%) | 374 (42.8%) | 93 (48.2%) | |
| Bothered by pain | 873 (29.7%) | 588 (31.3%) | 239 (27.4%) | 46 (23.8%) | |
| Pain limits activities | 880 (29.9%) | 568 (30.3%) | 259 (29.7%) | 53 (27.5%) | |
| Breathing Problems, N (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| No breathing problems | 2,165 (73.6%) | 1,418 (75.5%) | 611 (70.0%) | 136 (70.5%) | |
| Breathing problems present | 380 (12.9%) | 242 (12.9%) | 118 (13.5%) | 20 (10.4%) | |
| Problems limit activities | 395 (13.4%) | 215 (11.5%) | 144 (16.5%) | 36 (18.7%) | |
| BMI, N (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| Underweight (< 18.5 kg/m2) | 83 (2.8%) | 36 (1.9%) | 36 (4.1%) | 11 (5.7%) | |
| Normal (18.5–24.9 kg/m2) | 934 (31.7%) | 561 (29.9%) | 292 (33.4%) | 81 (42.0%) | |
| Overweight (25.0–29.9 kg/m2) | 993 (33.7%) | 673 (35.9%) | 265 (30.4%) | 55 (28.5%) | |
| Obesity (≥30 kg/m2) | 933 (31.7%) | 607 (32.3%) | 280 (32.1%) | 46 (23.8%) | |
| PHQ-2 Scores, Mean (SD) | 1.1 (1.4) | 1.0 (1.3) | 1.2 (1.5) | 1.2 (1.5) | <0.05 |
| GAD-2 Scores, Mean (SD) | 0.9 (1.4) | 0.9 (1.3) | 1.1 (1.5) | 1.1 (1.6) | <0.001 |
| Vision Impairments, Mean (SD) | 0.2 (0.5) | 0.2 (0.4) | 0.3 (0.5) | 0.4 (0.6) | <0.001 |
| Lower Limb Impairments, N (%) | 0.19 | ||||
| No impairments | 1,712 (58.2%) | 1,102 (58.7%) | 489 (56.0%) | 121 (62.7%) | |
| Impairments present | 423 (14.4%) | 284 (15.1%) | 117 (13.4%) | 22 (11.4%) | |
| Impairments limit activities | 803 (27.3%) | 488 (26.0%) | 265 (30.4%) | 50 (25.9%) | |
| Low Energy, N (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| No exhaustion | 1,281 (43.5%) | 873 (46.5%) | 330 (37.8%) | 78 (40.4%) | |
| Exhaustion presents | 562 (19.1%) | 352 (18.8%) | 178 (20.4%) | 32 (16.6%) | |
| Exhaustion limits activities | 1,090 (37.0%) | 647 (34.5%) | 363 (41.6%) | 80 (41.5%) | |
| Balance impairments, N (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| No balance problems | 1,703 (57.9%) | 1,133 (60.4%) | 463 (53.0%) | 107 (55.4%) | |
| Balance problems present | 662 (22.5%) | 415 (22.1%) | 211 (24.2%) | 36 (18.7%) | |
| Problems limit activities | 575 (19.5%) | 328 (17.5%) | 198 (22.7%) | 49 (25.4%) | |
| Mobility Impairments, Mean (SD) | 1.2 (1.5) | 1.1 (1.4) | 1.5 (1.5) | 1.7 (1.7) | <0.001 |
| SPPB Scores, Mean (SD) | 5.5 (2.7) | 5.9 (2.6) | 5.0 (2.6) | 4.6 (3.3) | <0.001 |
| Average Grip Strength, kg. | 23.4 (8.9) | 23.9 (8.9) | 22.4 (8.6) | 22.2 (10.1) | <0.001 |
| Maximum Grip Strength, kg. | 24.3 (9.1) | 24.9 (9.1) | 23.4 (8.7) | 23.3 (10.7) | <0.001 |
| Clock Drawing Test Scores, Mean (SD) | 3.5 (1.1) | 3.6 (1.1) | 3.4 (1.2) | 3.3 (1.4) | <0.001 |
| Stairs at Entrance, N (%) | 2,074 (70.6%) | 1,313 (70.1%) | 621 (71.2%) | 140 (72.5%) | 0.68 |
| Stairs in Home, N (%) | 1,299 (47.2%) | 842 (47.7%) | 370 (45.7%) | 87 (48.1%) | 0.62 |
| Bathroom Modifications, Mean (SD) | 2.1 (1.0) | 2.0 (1.0) | 2.1 (1.0) | 2.1 (1.0) | 0.11 |
| Mobility Assistance, Mean (SD) | 0.1 (0.4) | 0.1 (0.3) | 0.2 (0.5) | 0.4 (0.7) | <0.001 |
Note: WAs, walking aids; WSMDs, wheeled and seated mobility devices; Mixed, concurrent use of both WAs and WSMDs; SD, standard deviation; BMI, body mass index; PHQ-2, Patient Health Questionnaire-2 items; GAD-2, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 items; SPPB, Short Physical Performance Battery.