Table 1.
Participant Baseline Characteristics: Meals-on-Wheels Vitamin D and Falls Feasibility Study
| Characteristic | Total Sample, n=68 |
Intervention Group, n=38 |
Control Group, n=30 |
P- Valuea |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean ± SD | 77.9±8.7 | 77.6±9.0 | 78.2±8.4 | .75 |
| Female, % | 72.1 | 79.0 | 63.3 | .15 |
| Black, % | 75.0 | 71.0 | 80.0 | .40 |
| Winter, % | 55.9 | 50.0 | 63.3 | .27 |
| Living alone, % | 30.9 | 29.0 | 33.3 | .70 |
| Education, % | .54 | |||
| Elementary | 30.9 | 31.6 | 30.0 | |
| High school | 54.4 | 57.9 | 50.0 | |
| College | 14.7 | 10.5 | 20.0 | |
| Assistive device, % | .81 | |||
| None | 30.9 | 34.2 | 26.7 | |
| Cane | 23.5 | 23.7 | 23.3 | |
| Walker | 14.7 | 15.8 | 13.3 | |
| Wheelchair | 30.9 | 26.3 | 36.7 | |
| Self-rated health, % | .006 | |||
| Excellent or very good | 11.8 | 2.6 | 23.3 | |
| Good | 48.5 | 44.7 | 53.3 | |
| Fair | 29.4 | 34.2 | 23.3 | |
| Poor | 10.3 | 18.4 | 0 | |
| Chronic conditions, % | ||||
| Hypertension | 88.2 | 97.4 | 76.7 | .008 |
| Diabetes mellitus | 45.6 | 52.6 | 36.7 | .19 |
| Heart attack | 20.6 | 21.1 | 20.0 | .92 |
| Heart failure | 20.6 | 23.7 | 16.7 | .48 |
| Stroke | 22.1 | 29.0 | 13.3 | .12 |
| Lung disease | 11.8 | 13.2 | 10.3 | .99 |
| Cancer in past year | 8.8 | 2.6 | 16.7 | .08 |
| Medications, % | ||||
| Benzodiazepines | 5.9 | 5.3 | 6.7 | .81 |
| Narcotics | 14.7 | 13.2 | 16.7 | .69 |
| Antidepressants | 19.1 | 15.8 | 23.3 | .43 |
| Diuretics | 47.1 | 50.0 | 43.3 | .58 |
| Osteoporosis medications | 2.9 | 2.6 | 3.3 | .87 |
| Total number of prescription medications, mean ± SD |
6.1±4.2 | 6.4±3.4 | 5.8±5.1 | .59 |
| Dietary supplements, % | ||||
| Multivitamin | 20.6 | 26.3 | 13.3 | .21 |
| Calcium | 17.6 | 18.4 | 16.7 | .90 |
| Vitamin D-containing | 22.1 | 23.7 | 20.0 | .77 |
| Falls in past year, % | ||||
| 0 | 38.8 | 36.8 | 41.4 | .51 |
| 1 | 19.4 | 15.8 | 24.1 | |
| ≥2 | 41.8 | 47.4 | 34.5 | |
| Fall requiring medical attention in past year, %b |
19.5 | 16.7 | 23.5 | .58 |
| Afraid of falling, % | 57.4 | 63.2 | 50.0 | .28 |
| Pepper Assessment Tool for Disability score, mean ± SD |
||||
| Mobility score | 3.3±1.2 | 3.4±1.2 | 3.1±1.1 | .22 |
| Activity of daily living score | 1.6±0.7 | 1.7±0.8 | 1.5±0.5 | .20 |
| Instrumental activity of daily living score | 1.6±0.7 | 1.7±0.8 | 1.6±0.5 | .60 |
| 25-hydroxyvitamin D, ng/mL, mean ± SD | 20.9±11.5 | 22.5±12.2 | 18.9±10.6 | .22 |
a
Based on chi-square or Fisher exact test for categorical variables and t-test for continuous variables.
b
Among those who reported falling in past year.
SD=standard deviation.