Table 1.
Characteristics of Participants Who were Resistant to Decline or Not
| Characteristics | Resistanta (n=289) | Not Resistanta (n=305) | p-valueb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical function | |||
| Baseline SF36 physical function, mean (SD) | 80.2 (17.8) | 72.4 (18.3) | <0.001 |
| Pre-decline physical functionc, mean (SD) | — | 75.1 (16.3) | — |
| Amount of decline in physical function, mean (SD) | — | 26.4 (13.8) | — |
| Time at decline, mean (SD), mo | — | 12.8 (5.7) | — |
| Demographics | |||
| Age, mean (SD), y | 72.6 (5.0) | 73.6 (5.1) | 0.02 |
| Female, No. (%) | 149 (51.6) | 173 (56.7) | 0.24 |
| Caucasian, No. (%) | 271 (93.8) | 258 (84.6) | <0.001 |
| Education, No. (%): | |||
| High school degree | 63 (21.8) | 88 (28.9) | |
| Vocational or some college | 98 (33.9) | 78 (25.6) | 0.04 |
| College degree or above | 111 (38.4) | 112 (36.7) | |
| Annual income, No. (%)d: | |||
| < $12,500 | 6 (2.1) | 16 (5.2) | |
| $12,500 - $30,000 | 69 (23.9) | 92 (30.2) | 0.006 |
| $30,001- $49,999 | 79 (27.3) | 80 (26.2) | |
| ≥ $50,000 | 108 (37.4) | 92 (30.2) | |
| Health | |||
| Baseline SF36 general health, mean (SD) | 76.2 (15.7) | 68.7 (16.4) | <0.001 |
| Baseline SF36 mental health, mean (SD) | 87.4 (10.0) | 85.2 (12.6) | 0.02 |
| Symptom count, mean (SD) | 3.6 (2.9) | 5.1 (3.5) | <0.001 |
| Body mass index, mean (SD), kg/m2 | 28.7 (3.4) | 29.5 (3.5) | 0.007 |
| Years since cancer diagnosis, mean (SD) | 8.7 (2.6) | 8.6 (2.8) | 0.816 |
| Cancer treatment, No. (%): | |||
| Chemotherapy | 70 (24.2) | 86 (28.2) | 0.31 |
| Radiation | 109 (37.7) | 158 (51.8) | <0.001 |
| Surgery | 258 (89.3) | 271 (88.9) | 0.97 |
| Smoking, No. (%) | 18 (6.2) | 14 (4.6) | 0.48 |
| Psychosocial factors | |||
| Baseline self-efficacy for strength exercise, No. (%): | |||
| Very sure or sure | 240 (83.0) | 225 (73.8) | |
| Somewhat sure | 38 (13.1) | 59 (19.3) | 0.003 |
| Unsure or very unsure | 11 (3.8) | 21 (6.9) | |
| Baseline self-efficacy for endurance exercise, No. (%): | |||
| Very sure or sure | 215 (74.4) | 191 (62.6) | |
| Somewhat sure | 40 (13.8) | 65 (21.3) | 0.008 |
| Unsure or very unsure | 34 (11.8) | 49 (16.1) | |
| Baseline social support for exercise, No. (%) | |||
| Very much or extremely | 238 (82.4) | 214 (70.2) | |
| Somewhat | 37 (12.8) | 64 (21.0) | <0.001 |
| Not at all or a little | 14 (4.8) | 26 (8.5) |
Abbreviations: SF36 = Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36 Survey
Resistant participants had no declines, where decline was defined as a minimum drop of 13 points from average physical function during 2 preceding assessments.
Comparison of characteristics between “Resistant” and “Not Resistant” groups. As appropriate, we used t-test, χ2 test (for unordered categorical data), or Cochran- Armitage test for trend (for ordered categorical data).
Average of physical function scores observed at 2 assessments immediately preceding decline.
Overall, 52 (8.7%) of participants had missing data for annual income--27 (9.3%) among those who were resistant and 25 (8.2%) for those who were not.