TABLE 1—
Participant Characteristics by Walking Habits: MOBILIZE Boston Study; Boston, MA; September 2005–December 2009
| Sociodemographic | Nonwalker (n = 228), Mean (SD) or % | Recreational Walker (n = 180), Mean (SD) or % | Utilitarian Walker (n = 91), Mean (SD) or % | Dual Walker (n = 251), Mean (SD) or % | Pa |
| Female gender | 67.5 | 63.3 | 63.7 | 61.0 | .52 |
| Age at baseline, y | 79.1 (5.9) | 78.2 (5.2) | 78.4 (5.4) | 77.0 (5.1) | < .001 |
| White race | 74.1 | 86.6 | 76.9 | 75.7 | .02 |
| Highest education level completed | .002 | ||||
| ≤ high school graduate | 41.7 | 24.4 | 35.2 | 34.8 | |
| Some college or bachelor of arts | 34.2 | 41.7 | 36.3 | 28.4 | |
| Advanced degree | 24.1 | 33.9 | 28.6 | 36.8 | |
| Annual household income < $25 000 | 43.0 | 21.7 | 46.2 | 39.8 | < .001 |
| Lifestyle | |||||
| Body mass index, kg/m2 | 28.6 (5.5) | 27.8 (5.5) | 27.3 (4.7) | 26.6 (4.8) | < .001 |
| Physical Activity Scale in the Elderly | 89 (72.8) | 110 (68.7) | 99 (57.3) | 126 (71.3) | < .001 |
| Blocks walked/wk | 18.6 (34.0) | 51.6 (79.6) | 37.9 (53.2) | 62.8 (81.4) | < .001 |
| Alcoholic beverage frequency | .003 | ||||
| Every day | 12.3 | 11.7 | 12.1 | 15.9 | |
| 1–6/wk | 17.5 | 35.0 | 20.9 | 26.3 | |
| 1–3/mo | 24.6 | 20.0 | 16.5 | 22.3 | |
| Not at all | 45.6 | 33.3 | 50.5 | 35.5 | |
| Physical disability | |||||
| Berg Balance Scale | 47.3 (8.9) | 50.6 (5.2) | 49.9 (6.1) | 51.4 (4.8) | < .001 |
| Inability to stand from a chair without using arms | 17.1 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.6 | < .001 |
| Difficulty with activities of daily living | 33.8 | 18.9 | 20.9 | 14.7 | < .001 |
| Short Physical Performance Battery score | 8.4 (3.0) | 9.6 (2.2) | 9.3 (2.4) | 10.0 (2.0) | < .001 |
| Gait speed (m/s) | 0.86 (0.25) | 0.97 (0.27) | 0.94 (0.22) | 1.02 (0.25) | < .001 |
| Reduced activity because of illness in past year | 32.5 | 32.8 | 18.7 | 24.7 | .02 |
| Illness-related | |||||
| Fair-to-poor self-rated health | 21.1 | 10.0 | 11.0 | 13.2 | < .01 |
| No. of comorbid conditions (excluding depression) | 3.2 (1.6) | 2.9 (1.5) | 2.5 (1.4) | 2.7 (1.5) | < .001 |
| Moderate-to-severe bodily pain | 51.3 | 36.1 | 33.0 | 32.9 | < .001 |
| Foot pain on most days | 23.7 | 28.9 | 26.4 | 20.3 | .21 |
| Knee osteoarthritis | 26.3 | 22.8 | 28.6 | 23.9 | .69 |
| Peripheral neuropathy | 16.9 | 9.4 | 11.0 | 10.0 | .06 |
| Vision worse than 40/100 | 8.8 | 5.6 | 12.2 | 8.8 | .31 |
| Use of psychotropic medication | 20.8 | 24.0 | 15.6 | 18.6 | .35 |
| No. of medications | .02 | ||||
| 0–4 | 28.5 | 29.4 | 40.7 | 42.2 | |
| 5–8 | 47.4 | 50.0 | 42.9 | 41.0 | |
| ≥ 9 | 24.1 | 20.6 | 16.5 | 16.7 | |
| Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale | 12.5 (12.7) | 9.9 (8.6) | 12.5 (11.0) | 10.0 (11.5) | .02 |
| Mini-Mental Status Exam for elderly (< 18 excluded) | 26.9 (2.7) | 27.4 (2.4) | 26.9 (2.7) | 27.0 (2.8) | .2 |
| Fall history and home setting | |||||
| Falls efficacy scale (100 max) | 94.0 (11.7) | 97.1 (6.3) | 95.2 (10.0) | 96.3 (8.1) | < .01 |
| No. of falls in year before baseline | 0.79 (1.3) | 0.66 (1.5) | 0.76 (1.3) | 0.90 (3.7) | .78 |
| ≥ 3 flights of stairs in home | 9.7 | 8.9 | 11.0 | 15.5 | .11 |
| Neighborhood characteristics (census block group level)b | |||||
| Per-capita income, $1000s | 42 (22) | 49 (22) | 41 (22) | 43 (22) | < .01 |
| % below poverty level | 11 (12.7) | 7.9 (9.1) | 16.8 (15.2) | 14.1 (13.9) | < .001 |
| % of housing units owner occupied | 62.4 (26.3) | 69.9 (23.2) | 46.9 (26.8) | 52.5 (26.0) | < .001 |
| % in same house as previous year | 85.9 (11.2) | 85.7 (10.5) | 80.4 (13.9) | 81.8 (11.9) | < .001 |
| % of housing units vacant | 6.5 (8.0) | 5.7 (7.9) | 7.4 (6.2) | 6.3 (6.3) | .37 |
| % of adults who work | 81.2 (9.2) | 82.9 (7.7) | 80.5 (10.1) | 81.3 (11.8) | .21 |
| % on public assistance | 3.1 (4.9) | 1.8 (3.6) | 3.4 (5.8) | 2.8 (5.4) | .03 |
| % of workers who commute by walking | 4.2 (7.6) | 3.9 (6.7) | 8.4 (10.8) | 7.4 (9.8) | < .001 |
| % minority (non-White) | 36.6 (32.9) | 24.9 (26.3) | 34.1 (30.0) | 34.0 (29.4) | < .001 |
| % Hispanic | 8.7 (11.2) | 6.1 (9.7) | 11.1 (12.4) | 9.4 (12.0) | < .01 |
a
P value for testing differences among 4 walker groups. The Kruskal-Wallis rank test was used for continuous variables, and the χ2 test was used for categorical variables.
b
Census block group–level socioeconomic status indicators were extracted from the 5-year rolling averages of American Community Surveys 2005 to 2009, the same period as the participants’ follow-up.