TABLE 4—
Block-Group Characteristics and Their Associations With Walking Habits and With Falls on Sidewalks, Streets, and Curbs: MOBILIZE Boston Study; Boston, MA; September 2005–December 2009
| OR for Walking Habit (95% CI)c |
Rate Ratios for Falls on Sidewalks, Streets, and Curbs (95% CI)d |
||||||
| Block-Group-Level Characteristica | Mean (SD)b | Units | Walking Outdoors ≥ 3 d/wk | Utilitarian Walking | Recreational Walking | Crude | Adjustede |
| Per-capita income, $1000s | 38.4 (22.9) | < 12.5 vs ≥ 12.5 | 1.83 (0.78, 4.32) | 1.98* (1.04, 3.79) | 0.76 (0.33, 1.71) | 1.44 (0.73, 2.84) | 1.83 (0.92, 3.66) |
| % with income < poverty level | 14.6 (15.0) | > 20 vs ≤ 20 | 1.63* (1.07, 2.50) | 1.65 (1.08, 2.51)* | 0.88 (0.61, 1.26) | 1.46 (0.98, 2.16) | 1.75** (1.27, 2.40) |
| % owner-occupied housing units | 53.7 (28.3) | < 25 vs ≥ 25 | 1.61 (0.93, 2.80) | 2.08** (1.31, 3.31) | 1.06 (0.67, 1.70) | 1.90** (1.26, 2.87) | 1.98** (1.42, 2.76) |
| % in same house as previous year | 82.4 (13.3) | < 75 vs ≥ 75 | 1.26 (0.80, 2.00) | 2.18** (1.31, 3.64) | 0.86 (0.58, 1.27) | 1.52* (1.05, 2.20) | 1.55* (1.13, 2.12) |
| % housing units vacant (Ref) | 7.3 (7.7) | 0% | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| > 0–20 | 1.29 (0.90, 1.84) | 2.24** (1.53, 3.30) | 1.11 (0.81, 1.52) | 1.07 (0.75, 1.53) | 1.08 (0.79, 1.47) | ||
| > 20 | 0.64 (0.32, 1.27) | 0.84 (0.43, 1.64) | 0.93 (0.49, 1.76) | 0.87 (0.50, 1.51) | 1.26 (0.79, 1.99) | ||
| % adults who work | 80.8 (11.2) | < 70 vs ≥ 70 | 1.85* (1.11, 3.08) | 1.53 (0.95, 2.48) | 0.96 (0.61, 1.52) | 1.15 (0.70, 1.89) | 1.26 (0.81, 1.96) |
| % on public assistance | 3.4 (6.0) | > 5 vs ≤ 5 | 1.07 (0.71, 1.64) | 1.02 (0.65, 1.60) | 0.83 (0.58, 1.19) | 1.32 (0.82, 2.12) | 1.63* (1.12, 2.39) |
| % workers commute by walking | 6.3 (10.2) | > 10 vs ≤ 10 | 1.22 (0.77, 1.92) | 3.09** (1.87, 5.09) | 1.17 (0.79, 1.74) | 1.53* (1.01, 2.30) | 1.49* (1.03, 2.14) |
| % racial/ethnic minority (non-White; Ref) | 40.7 (33.9) | ≤ 5 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| > 5–95 | 1.19 (0.71, 1.99) | 1.87 (1.06, 3.29)* | 1.27 (0.72, 2.23) | 1.93* (1.15, 3.21) | 2.60** (1.56, 4.32) | ||
| > 95 | 1.37 (0.63, 2.97) | 1.00 (0.42, 2.41) | 0.91 (0.40, 2.06) | 0.87 (0.37, 2.02) | 1.83 (0.72, 4.65) | ||
| % Hispanic | 11.0 (13.4) | > 15 vs ≤ 15 | 1.22 (0.81, 1.84) | 1.41 (0.93, 2.15) | 0.84 (0.57, 1.23) | 1.18 (0.80, 1.74) | 1.53* (1.06, 2.21) |
Note. CI = confidence interval; OR = odds ratio. 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.
Sociodemographic data from American Community Surveys (2005, 2009).
Based on 300 different block groups containing the sample population.
Estimates obtained with logistic regression models clustered by block group for 3 outcomes: frequency of walking outdoors (at least 3 days vs 2 days or less per week), utilitarian walking in neighborhood (yes vs no), and recreational walking in neighborhood (yes vs no). Each analysis was adjusted for a composite score predicted from the following personal characteristics: age, sex, self-rated health, bodily pain, alcohol consumption, education level, body mass index, short physical performance battery, falls efficacy, activities of daily life ability, race, foot pain, balance, number of comorbidities, gait speed, peripheral neuropathy, flights of stairs in the home, Mini-Mental State Exam score, number of medications, illness causing reduced activity in past year, and strength to rise from a chair.
Estimates obtained with negative binomial regression models clustered by block group.
Adjusted for a composite outdoor fall risk score predicted from the personal characteristics listed in footnote c plus osteoarthritis of the knee, number of falls in year before baseline, depression, poor vision, and psychotropic medication.
*P < .05; **P < .005.