Table 1.
Participants’ Characteristics at Baseline (1999–2001).
| Characteristics | Overall (N = 4011) | Fast gait speeda (m/s) (SE) (N = 3,707) | Heighta (cm) (SE) (N = 4,011) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) | No. (%) | |||||
| Age (years) | 73.4 (4.6) | — | — | — | ||
| <70 | 1162 (29.0) | 1.672 (0.008) | 164.6 (0.2) | |||
| 70–74 | 1117 (27.8) | 1.571 (0.009) | 163.4 (0.2) | |||
| 74–78 | 1049 (26.2) | 1.509 (0.009) | 162.8 (0.2) | |||
| ≥78 | 683 (17.0) | 1.422 (0.011)b,c | 161.5 (0.2)b,c | |||
| Sex | Men | 1540 (38.4) | 1.663 (0.007) | 169.5 (0.2) | ||
| Women | 2471 (61.6) | 1.425 (0.006)b | 156.7 (0.1)b | |||
| Education | No education/primary school | 1390 (34.7) | 1.474 (0.008) | 161.9 (0.2) | ||
| Secondary school | 1286 (32.1) | 1.530 (0.008) | 163.0 (0.2) | |||
| High-school/university degree | 1335 (33.3) | 1.621 (0.008)b,c | 164.3 (0.2)b,c | |||
| Height (cm) | Men | Women | 161.8 (8.8) | — | — | |
| Q1, <165 | Q1, <153 | 894 (22.3) | 1.500 (0.009) | — | ||
| Q2, 165–170 | Q2, 153–157 | 1031 (25.7) | 1.523 (0.009) | — | ||
| Q3, 170–174 | Q3, 157–161 | 1016 (25.3) | 1.561 (0.009) | — | ||
| Q4, ≥174 | Q4, ≥161 | 1070 (26.7) | 1.588 (0.009)b,c | — | ||
| BMI (kg/m²) | 25.7 (4.0) | — | — | — | ||
| Normal (<25) | 1877 (46.8) | 1.599 (0.007) | 163.6 (0.1) | |||
| Overweight (25–29.9) | 1587 (39.6) | 1.524 (0.007) | 162.8 (0.2) | |||
| Obese (≥30) | 547 (13.6) | 1.413 (0.012)b,c | 162.2 (0.3)b,c | |||
| MMSE score | <27 | 966 (24.1) | 1.487 (0.009) | 162.3 (0.2) | ||
| 27–28 | 706 (17.6) | 1.519 (0.011) | 163.0 (0.2) | |||
| ≥28 | 2339 (58.3) | 1.575 (0.006)b,c | 163.4 (0.1)b,c | |||
| Depressive symptoms | Yes | 893 (22.3) | 1.467 (0.010) | 163.0 (0.2) | ||
| No | 3113 (77.7) | 1.564 (0.005)b | 163.1 (0.1) | |||
| Bone fracture | Yes | 273 (6.8) | 1.521 (0.017) | 163.4 (0.4) | ||
| No | 3738 (93.2) | 1.545 (0.005) | 163.1 (0.1) | |||
| Falls | Yes | 223 (5.6) | 1.463 (0.019) | 162.9 (0.4) | ||
| No | 3787 (94.4) | 1.548 (0.005)b | 163.1 (0.1) | |||
| Physical activity | Low | 943 (23.9) | 1.490 (0.009) | 163.0 (0.2) | ||
| High | 3002 (76.1) | 1.562 (0.005)b | 163.1 (0.1) | |||
| Diabetes | Yes | 299 (7.5) | 1.484 (0.016) | 163.3 (0.4) | ||
| No | 3712 (92.5) | 1.549 (0.005)b | 163.1 (0.1) | |||
| Dyspnea | Yes | 528 (13.2) | 1.434 (0.012) | 162.9 (0.3) | ||
| No | 3483 (86.8) | 1.561 (0.005)b | 163.1 (0.1) | |||
| NSAIDs for joint pain | Yes | 605 (15.1) | 1.462 (0.012) | 163.1 (0.3) | ||
| No | 3398 (84.9) | 1.558 (0.005)b | 163.1 (0.1) | |||
| Knee/hip replacement for osteoarthritis | Yes | 175 (4.4) | 1.451 (0.021) | 163.5 (0.5) | ||
| No | 3836 (95.6) | 1.548 (0.005)b | 163.1 (0.1) | |||
| Osteoporosis | Yes | 826 (20.6) | 1.538 (0.011) | 163.2 (0.2) | ||
| No | 3179 (79.4) | 1.545 (0.005) | 163.0 (0.1) | |||
| Psychotropic drugs | Yes | 1004 (25.0) | 1.481 (0.009) | 162.8 (0.2) | ||
| No | 3007 (75.0) | 1.564 (0.005)b | 163.2 (0.1) | |||
| Cardiovascular diseased | Yes | 613 (15.3) | 1.482 (0.011) | 162.7 (0.2) | ||
| No | 3398 (84.7) | 1.557 (0.005)b | 163.2 (0.1) | |||
| Hypertension | Yes | 3168 (79.0) | 1.531 (0.005) | 162.9 (0.1) | ||
| No | 843 (21.0) | 1.597 (0.010)b | 163.7 (0.2)b | |||
| Hypercholesterolemia | Yes | 1341 (33.4) | 1.526 (0.008) | 162.6 (0.2) | ||
| No | 2670 (66.6) | 1.553 (0.006)b | 163.3 (0.1)b | |||
Q1 (shortest)-Q4 (tallest), sex-specific quartiles of height; BMI, body mass index; MMSE, mini-mental state examination; NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; SD, standard deviation; SE, standard error.
aAge/sex-adjusted means and standard errors (SE). Analyses based on 3707 participants with a fast gait speed measure at baseline.
bAge- and sex-adjusted P-value < 0.001.
cAge- and sex-adjusted P-value for trend.
dStroke, coronary heart disease, lower-limb arteritis.