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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: J Am Geriatr Soc. 2015 Jun 11;63(7):1348–1354. doi: 10.1111/jgs.13487

Table 1.

Baseline Characteristics of Health ABC Participants by Baseline Physical Activity Category

Characteristic Inactive
(N= 720)
Lifestyle
Active
(N= 1605)
Exerciser
(N=750)
P-value
for trend
Age (years), Mean ± SD 74.0 ± 2.92 73.5 ± 2.86 73.6 ± 2.85 0.03
Pittsburgh Site 41.6 (300) 49.8 (800 ) 56.9 (427) <0.001
Female Sex, % (N) 56.3 (405) 57. (922) 34.3 (257) <0.001
Black Race, % (N) 50.3 (362) 44.6(715) 27.2 (204) <0.001
BMIa (kg/m2), Mean ± SD 26.6 ± 5.47 27.5 ± 4.96 26.85 ± 4.37 0.63
Ever Smoker, % (N) 58.6 (422) 53.2 (853) 59.6 (447) 0.67
Baseline Health Fair or Poor, % (N) 23.2 (167) 16.9 (271) 7.5 (56) <0.001
Season of Baseline Visit, % (N)
    Spring 31.5 (227) 33.5 (538) 38.5 (289) 0.02
    Summer 18.8 (136) 23.0 (369) 20.1 (151) 0.77
    Autumn 25.6 (184) 21.2 (341) 21.3 (160) 0.02
    Winter 22.4 (161) 22.7 (365) 20.5 (154) 0.55
Health History, % (N)
    Heart Attack 10.4 (75) 10.7 (172) 14.7 (110) 0.01
    Stroke 3.5 (25) 2.3 (37) 1.3 (10) 0.01
    Congestive Heart Failure 8.2 (59) 192 (12.0) 73 (9.7) 0.55
    Lung Diseaseb 21.5 (155) 19.2(308) 14.7(110) 0.001
    Osteoporosis 9.0 (65) 9.5(152) 5.1 (38) 0.005
    Depression 10.4 (75) 9.3 (149) 9.1 (68) 0.38
    Osteoarthritis in knee or hip 8.2 (59) 12. (192) 9.7 (73) 0.36
    Peripheral Artery Disease 4.2 (30) 3.9 (62) 4.8 (36) 0.54
    Diabetes 17.9 (129) 15.2 (244) 11.6 (87) 0.001
Self-Reported Symptoms, % (N)
    Lower Extremity Pain While Walking 25.8 (186) 22.0 (353) 15.7 (118) <0.001
    Back Pain Fairly Often or More 24.2 (174) 22.5(361) 16.0 (120) <0.001
    Shortness of Breath While Walking 36.9 (266) 34.0 (546) 21.6 (162) <0.001
Physical Functioning
    Short Physical Performance Battery 7.5 ± 2.98 8.1 ± 2.85 9.0 ± 2.39 <0.001
    Report Walking ¼ Mile is “Very
Easy”, % (N)
63.5 (457) 65.4(1050) 73.7 (553) <0.001
a

BodyMass Index

b

Lung disease includes a history of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or emphysema.