TABLE 2.
Baseline characteristics of mobility device users, by number of mobility device combination changes.
| Total N = 2,943 |
No Change N = 2,045 |
1 Change N = 550 |
2+ Changes N = 348 |
p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| Age, Mean (SD) | 80.3 (7.2) | 79.9 (7.2) | 81.6 (7.2) | 80.5 (7.0) | <0.001 |
| Female, N (%) | 1,697 (57.7%) | 1,157 (56.6%) | 319 (58.0%) | 221 (63.5%) | 0.053 |
| Race and Ethnicity, N (%) | 0.088 | ||||
| White, non-Hispanic | 2,066 (70.2%) | 1,431 (70.0%) | 395 (71.8%) | 240 (69.0%) | |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 590 (20.0%) | 401 (19.6%) | 106 (19.3%) | 83 (23.9%) | |
| Other, non-Hispanic | 81 (2.8%) | 62 (3.0%) | 15 (2.7%) | 4 (1.1%) | |
| Hispanic | 167 (5.7%) | 123 (6.0%) | 27 (4.9%) | 17 (4.9%) | |
| Multiracial | 1 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | 1 (0.3%) | |
| Education Level, N (%) | 0.61 | ||||
| Less than high school | 761 (25.9%) | 521 (25.5%) | 143 (26.0%) | 97 (27.9%) | |
| High school diploma | 779 (26.5%) | 532 (26.0%) | 148 (26.9%) | 99 (28.4%) | |
| Some college and Bachelor’s | 1,074 (36.5%) | 752 (36.8%) | 201 (36.5%) | 121 (34.8%) | |
| Graduate education | 294 (10.0%) | 211 (10.3%) | 53 (9.6%) | 30 (8.6%) | |
| Marital Status, N (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| Married or with a partner | 1,356 (46.1%) | 945 (46.2%) | 251 (45.6%) | 160 (46.0%) | |
| Single | 455 (15.5%) | 352 (17.2%) | 69 (12.5%) | 34 (9.8%) | |
| Widowed | 1,131 (38.4%) | 748 (36.6%) | 230 (41.8%) | 153 (44.0%) | |
| Household Income, N (%) | 0.44 | ||||
| Poorest 0–25% | 459 (15.6%) | 308 (15.1%) | 91 (16.5%) | 60 (17.2%) | |
| 25%–50% | 516 (17.5%) | 361 (17.7%) | 99 (18.0%) | 56 (16.1%) | |
| 50%–75% | 425 (14.4%) | 306 (15.0%) | 72 (13.1%) | 47 (13.5%) | |
| 75%–100% Richest | 359 (12.2%) | 251 (12.3%) | 56 (10.2%) | 52 (14.9%) | |
| Number of Children, N (%) | 0.29 | ||||
| No children | 243 (8.3%) | 182 (8.9%) | 39 (7.1%) | 22 (6.3%) | |
| Single child | 343 (11.7%) | 228 (11.1%) | 70 (12.7%) | 45 (12.9%) | |
| Two or more children | 2,357 (80.1%) | 1,635 (80.0%) | 441 (80.2%) | 281 (80.7%) | |
| Metropolitan Status, N (%) | 2,353 (80.0%) | 1,644 (80.4%) | 435 (79.1%) | 274 (78.7%) | 0.66 |
| Community Environment, Mean (SD) | 7.0 (1.9) | 7.0 (1.9) | 7.1 (1.8) | 7.0 (1.8) | 0.85 |
| Housing Type, N (%) | 0.44 | ||||
| Free-standing single house | 2,190 (74.4%) | 1,513 (74.0%) | 419 (76.2%) | 258 (74.1%) | |
| House attached to others | 252 (8.6%) | 172 (8.4%) | 50 (9.1%) | 30 (8.6%) | |
| Mobile home/trailer | 158 (5.4%) | 108 (5.3%) | 30 (5.5%) | 20 (5.7%) | |
| Multi-unit building | 332 (11.3%) | 241 (11.8%) | 51 (9.3%) | 40 (11.5%) | |
| Other | 11 (0.4%) | 11 (0.5%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0 (0.0%) | |
| Vehicle Ownership, N (%) | 2,309 (80.6%) | 1,598 (80.5%) | 442 (81.9%) | 269 (79.6%) | 0.68 |
| Living Arrangement, N (%) | 0.56 | ||||
| Living alone | 1,019 (34.6%) | 710 (34.7%) | 186 (33.8%) | 123 (35.3%) | |
| Living with a spouse/partner | 1,067 (36.3%) | 757 (37.0%) | 191 (34.7%) | 119 (34.2%) | |
| Living with a spouse/partner and others | 265 (9.0%) | 169 (8.3%) | 56 (10.2%) | 40 (11.5%) | |
| Living with others | 591 (20.1%) | 408 (20.0%) | 117 (21.3%) | 66 (19.0%) | |
| General Health, Mean (SD) | 3.0 (1.0) | 3.0 (1.0) | 3.0 (1.0) | 3.1 (1.0) | <0.05 |
| Chronic Diseases, Mean (SD) | 2.0 (1.2) | 2.0 (1.2) | 2.0 (1.3) | 1.9 (1.2) | 0.37 |
| Surgery History, Mean (SD) | 0.6 (0.8) | 0.6 (0.8) | 0.7 (0.8) | 0.6 (0.8) | 0.31 |
| Hip Fracture History, N (%) | 166 (5.6%) | 109 (5.3%) | 34 (6.2%) | 23 (6.6%) | 0.53 |
| Other Fracture History, N (%) | 742 (25.2%) | 504 (24.7%) | 134 (24.4%) | 104 (29.9%) | 0.10 |
| Fall History, N (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| No fall | 1,826 (62.0%) | 1,325 (64.8%) | 304 (55.3%) | 197 (56.6%) | |
| One fall | 586 (19.9%) | 414 (20.2%) | 110 (20.0%) | 62 (17.8%) | |
| Multiple falls | 524 (17.8%) | 304 (14.9%) | 133 (24.2%) | 87 (25.0%) | |
| Fear of Falling, N (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| No fear of falling | 1,858 (63.1%) | 1344 (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 (%) | 0.21 | ||||
| No pain | 1,186 (40.3%) | 845 (41.3%) | 224 (40.7%) | 117 (33.6%) | |
| Bothered by pain | 873 (29.7%) | 602 (29.4%) | 158 (28.7%) | 113 (32.5%) | |
| Pain limits activities | 880 (29.9%) | 595 (29.1%) | 167 (30.4%) | 118 (33.9%) | |
| Breathing Problems, N (%) | <0.05 | ||||
| No breathing problems | 2165 (73.6%) | 1,522 (74.4%) | 404 (73.5%) | 239 (68.7%) | |
| Breathing problems present | 380 (12.9%) | 270 (13.2%) | 66 (12.0%) | 44 (12.6%) | |
| Problems limit activities | 395 (13.4%) | 250 (12.2%) | 80 (14.5%) | 65 (18.7%) | |
| BMI, N (%) | 0.11 | ||||
| Underweight (<18.5 kg/m2) | 83 (2.8%) | 61 (3.0%) | 13 (2.4%) | 9 (2.6%) | |
| Normal (18.5–24.9 kg/m2) | 934 (31.7%) | 660 (32.3%) | 174 (31.6%) | 100 (28.7%) | |
| Overweight (25.0–29.9 kg/m2) | 993 (33.7%) | 706 (34.5%) | 182 (33.1%) | 105 (30.2%) | |
| Obesity (≥30 kg/m2) | 933 (31.7%) | 618 (30.2%) | 181 (32.9%) | 134 (38.5%) | |
| PHQ-2 Scores, Mean (SD) | 1.1 (1.4) | 1.1 (1.4) | 1.1 (1.5) | 1.1 (1.5) | 0.49 |
| GAD-2 Scores, Mean (SD) | 0.9 (1.4) | 0.9 (1.4) | 1.0 (1.4) | 1.0 (1.5) | 0.26 |
| Vision Impairments, Mean (SD) | 0.2 (0.5) | 0.2 (0.5) | 0.2 (0.5) | 0.2 (0.4) | 0.30 |
| Lower Limb Impairments, N (%) | <0.05 | ||||
| No impairments | 1,712 (58.2%) | 1,232 (60.2%) | 300 (54.5%) | 180 (51.7%) | |
| Impairments present | 423 (14.4%) | 289 (14.1%) | 79 (14.4%) | 55 (15.8%) | |
| Impairments limit activities | 803 (27.3%) | 520 (25.4%) | 170 (30.9%) | 113 (32.5%) | |
| Low Energy, N (%) | 0.15 | ||||
| No exhaustion | 1,281 (43.5%) | 927 (45.3%) | 219 (39.8%) | 135 (38.8%) | |
| Exhaustion presents | 562 (19.1%) | 377 (18.4%) | 116 (21.1%) | 69 (19.8%) | |
| Exhaustion limits activities | 1,090 (37.0%) | 734 (35.9%) | 213 (38.7%) | 143 (41.1%) | |
| Balance impairments, N (%) | <0.001 | ||||
| No balance problems | 1,703 (57.9%) | 1,249 (61.1%) | 303 (55.1%) | 151 (43.4%) | |
| Balance problems present | 662 (22.5%) | 445 (21.8%) | 118 (21.5%) | 99 (28.4%) | |
| Problems limit activities | 575 (19.5%) | 349 (17.1%) | 129 (23.5%) | 97 (27.9%) | |
| Mobility Impairments, Mean (SD) | 1.2 (1.5) | 1.1 (1.4) | 1.3 (1.5) | 1.7 (1.5) | <0.001 |
| SPPB Scores, Mean (SD) | 5.5 (2.7) | 5.7 (2.8) | 5.1 (2.5) | 5.0 (2.4) | <0.001 |
| Average Grip Strength, kg. | 23.4 (8.9) | 23.7 (8.9) | 23.0 (9.5) | 21.8 (8.0) | <0.01 |
| Maximum Grip Strength, kg. | 24.3 (9.1) | 24.7 (9.0) | 24.0 (9.7) | 22.8 (8.2) | <0.01 |
| Clock Drawing Test Scores, Mean (SD) | 3.5 (1.1) | 3.6 (1.1) | 3.4 (1.2) | 3.5 (1.1) | <0.01 |
| Stairs at Entrance, N (%) | 2,074 (70.6%) | 1448 (70.9%) | 380 (69.2%) | 246 (70.7%) | 0.74 |
| Stairs in Home, N (%) | 1,299 (47.2%) | 910 (47.3%) | 234 (46.0%) | 155 (48.1%) | 0.81 |
| Bathroom Modifications, Mean (SD) | 2.1 (1.0) | 2.1 (1.0) | 2.1 (1.0) | 2.1 (1.1) | 0.24 |
| Mobility Assistance, Mean (SD) | 0.1 (0.4) | 0.1 (0.4) | 0.1 (0.4) | 0.2 (0.5) | 0.12 |
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.