Table 1.
Participants' characteristics by walking habits.
| Mean (SD) or % | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Overall (n = 745) |
Walking ≥5 days/week |
Recreational walking ≥once/week |
Utilitarian walking ≥once/week |
||||
| Yes (n = 251) |
No (n = 494) |
Yes (n = 310) |
No (n = 429) |
Yes (n = 208) |
No (n = 530) |
||
| Demographic | |||||||
| Age (years) | 78.1 (5.4) | 77.2 (5.2)∗∗ | 78.6 (5.5) | 77.4 (5.2)∗∗ | 78.6 (5.5) | 76.9 (5.0)∗∗ | 78.5 (5.5) |
| Male gender | 36.0 | 43.3∗∗ | 32.2 | 37.1 | 35.0 | 38.5 | 34.9 |
| White race/ethnicity | 77.9 | 80.5 | 76.5 | 81.3 | 77.4 | 78.4 | 77.7 |
| Education | |||||||
| High school graduate or less | 34.1 | 28.7∗ | 36.8 | 31.3 | 36.4 | 33.7 | 34.5 |
| Some college or college graduate | 34.5 | 34.7∗ | 34.4 | 34.2 | 34.3 | 32.7 | 34.9 |
| Graduate studies | 31.4 | 36.7∗ | 28.7 | 34.5 | 29.4 | 33.7 | 30.6 |
| Lifestyle | |||||||
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | |||||||
| <25 | 32.1 | 37.9∗∗ | 29.2 | 35.2∗∗ | 29.8 | 37.5∗ | 30.0 |
| 25–29.9 | 41.7 | 44.2∗∗ | 40.5 | 44.5∗∗ | 40.1 | 43.3∗ | 41.5 |
| 30+ | 26.2 | 17.9∗∗ | 30.4 | 20.3∗∗ | 30.1 | 19.2∗ | 28.5 |
| Use of alcohol | |||||||
| Every day use | 13.3 | 19.5∗∗ | 10.1 | 12.9 | 13.5 | 16.8 | 12.1 |
| 1–6 days/week | 25.4 | 29.1∗∗ | 23.5 | 29.7 | 22.4 | 26.4 | 24.9 |
| 1–3 days/month | 22.0 | 24.7∗∗ | 20.7 | 20.7 | 23.1 | 20.7 | 22.6 |
| Not at all | 39.3 | 26.7∗∗ | 45.8 | 36.8 | 41.0 | 36.1 | 40.4 |
| Physical disability | |||||||
| Balance (Berg score) | |||||||
| <48 | 21.6 | 13.2∗∗ | 25.9 | 13.9∗∗ | 27.3 | 15.9∗∗ | 23.6 |
| 48–50 | 25.1 | 23.1∗∗ | 26.1 | 26.1∗∗ | 24.0 | 19.2∗∗ | 27.2 |
| 51+ | 53.3 | 63.8∗∗ | 48.0 | 60.0∗∗ | 48.7 | 64.9∗∗ | 49.3 |
| Unable to do chair-stand test without arms | 7.5 | 4.4∗ | 9.1 | 2.9∗∗ | 10.7 | 2.4∗∗ | 9.4 |
| Gait speed (m/sec) | |||||||
| <0.68 | 13.3 | 6.0∗∗ | 17.0 | 8.7∗∗ | 16.6 | 3.9∗∗ | 16.8 |
| 0.68–1.33 | 80.1 | 82.5∗∗ | 79.0 | 81.3∗∗ | 79.3 | 87.0∗∗ | 77.6 |
| >1.33 | 6.6 | 11.6∗∗ | 4.0 | 10.0∗∗ | 4.2 | 9.1∗∗ | 5.7 |
| Activities of daily living | |||||||
| No difficulty | 77.9 | 84.1∗ | 74.7 | 83.9∗∗ | 73.7 | 85.6∗∗ | 75.3 |
| Little/some difficulty | 14.9 | 11.2∗ | 16.8 | 10.0∗∗ | 18.2 | 11.1∗∗ | 16.0 |
| Much difficulty/inability | 7.3 | 4.8∗ | 8.5 | 6.1∗∗ | 8.2 | 3.4∗∗ | 8.7 |
| Short physical performance battery <10 | 40.5 | 30.3∗∗ | 45.8 | 32.3∗∗ | 45.9 | 27.4∗∗ | 45.1 |
| Reduced activity due to illness past year | 28.3 | 25.9 | 29.6 | 29.4 | 27.5 | 23.6 | 30.0 |
| Other health-related | |||||||
| Moderate/severe bodily pain | 39.1 | 29.9∗∗ | 43.7 | 34.5∗ | 42.4 | 35.6 | 40.4 |
| Number of comorbid conditions | 2.9 (1.5) | 2.7 (1.4)∗ | 3.0 (1.5)∗ | 2.8 (1.5) | 2.9 (1.5) | 2.6 (1.4)∗∗ | 3.0 (1.5) |
| Fair/poor self-rated health | 14.4 | 7.2∗∗ | 18.0 | 11.6 | 15.6 | 10.6 | 15.5 |
| Peripheral neuropathy | 12.1 | 7.2∗∗ | 14.6 | 9.4 | 14.0 | 7.7∗ | 13.6 |
| Foot pain | 23.9 | 18.7∗ | 26.5 | 22.3 | 25.2 | 23.1 | 24.2 |
| Number of medications | |||||||
| 0–4 | 34.9 | 41.4∗∗ | 31.6 | 38.1 | 32.9 | 45.2∗∗ | 31.1 |
| 5–8 | 45.2 | 43.8∗∗ | 46.0 | 43.6 | 46.9 | 39.9∗∗ | 47.4 |
| 9+ | 19.9 | 14.7∗∗ | 22.5 | 18.4 | 20.3 | 14.9∗∗ | 21.5 |
| Impaired cognition (MMSE 18–23) | 11.7 | 7.2∗∗ | 14.0 | 10.3 | 12.4 | 9.1 | 12.3 |
| Falls efficacy score <90 | 13.6 | 7.6∗∗ | 16.6 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 11.1 | 14.3 |
∗ p < 0.05 in unadjusted logistic regression of the walking behavior on the characteristic. In the case of multicategory characteristics, for example, education level, the statistic applies to the characteristic overall, not to particular categories.
∗∗ p < 0.01.