Table 1.
Participant Characteristics by Baseline Tiredness*
| Tired most of the time in past month | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | Total
(n=492) |
Yes
(n=210) |
No
(n=282) |
p-value |
| Age, years | 74.1 ± 5.7 | 74.4 ± 5.6 | 73.8 ± 5.8 | .36 |
| Female | 216 (44) | 105 (50) | 111 (39) | .02 |
| White | 394 (80) | 177 (84) | 217 (77) | .04 |
| High school or greater education | 324 (66) | 138 (66) | 186 (66) | .96 |
| Number of chronic conditions (of 8)† | 2.4 ± 1.4 | 3.0 ± 1.3 | 2.0 ± 1.2 | <.001 |
| Cardiovascular | 111 (23) | 55 (26) | 56 (20) | 0.10 |
| Neurological | 52 (11) | 29 (14) | 23 (8) | 0.04 |
| Musculoskeletal | 349 (71) | 166 (79) | 184 (65) | <0.001 |
| Pulmonary | 118 (24) | 69 (33) | 49 (17) | <0.001 |
| Diabetes | 85 (17) | 51 (24) | 34 (12) | <0.001 |
| Cancer | 113 (23) | 54 (26) | 59 (21) | 0.21 |
| Visual | 263 (53) | 129 (61) | 134 (48) | 0.002 |
| General | 103 (21) | 69 (33) | 34 (12) | <0.001 |
| Cognitive function (MMSE‡) | 27.5 ± 2.3 | 27.5 ± 2.3 | 27.4 ± 2.4 | .64 |
| Depressive symptoms (GDS§) | 2.3 ± 2.8 | 3.6 ± 3.1 | 1.4 ± 2.0 | <0.001 |
| Depressive symptoms (mood items§) | 0.3 ± 0.8 | 0.5 ± 0.9 | 0.2 ± 0.6 | <0.001 |
| Sleep problems | 30 (6) | 21 (10) | 9 (3) | 0.002 |
| Chronic Pain | 38 (8) | 26 (12) | 12 (4) | <0.001 |
| Body mass index, kilograms/meters2 | 27.5 ± 5.1 | 28.0 ± 5.5 | 27.2 ± 4.8 | .10 |
| Self-rated health fair or poor | 108 (22) | 72 (34) | 36 (13) | <0.001 |
| NHIS ADL‖ | 14 ± 2 | 13 ± 2.5 | 15 ± 1.6 | <0.001 |
| SF-36 PFI# | 64 ± 30 | 50 ± 28 | 74 ± 26 | <0.001 |
| Gait speed, meters/second | .88 ± .24 | .82 ± .24 | .92 ± .23 | <0.001 |
Values represent N (%) for dichotomous variables and mean ± standard deviation for continuous variables.
Chronic condition categories include: cardiovascular (angina, heart failure, or heart attack), neurological (stroke or Parkinson's disease), pulmonary (lung disease, emphysema, asthma, or bronchitis), musculoskeletal (arthritis, osteoporosis, broken bone, amputation, or joint replacement), diabetes, cancer, visual (cataracts or glaucoma), and general (depression/anxiety/emotional problem, sleep problem, or chronic pain).
MMSE: Mini-mental State Exam, range 0-30 with higher scores representing better cognition
GDS: Geriatric Depression Score, range 0-15 with higher scores representing more depressive symptoms; we also present a 4-item scale using only mood-items (life is empty, downhearted and blue, good spirits, happy most of the time) with a range of 0-4
NHIS ADL: National Health Interview Survey Activities of Daily Living, range 0-16 with higher scores representing better function
SF-36 PFI: Medical Outcomes Survey Physical Function Index, range 0-100 with higher scores representing better function