Table 3.
Older adults in jail experienced geriatric conditions at rates statistically similar to those in community-dwelling older adults in the lowest net worth quintile participating in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in their 60s and 70s
| Geriatric Condition | % in Jail | % in lowest net worth quintile HRS population (p-value) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean Age = 59.4 | Age 65–69 | Age 70–74 | Age 75–79 | Age 80–84 | Age 85+ | |
| Functional Impairmenta | 34% | 14% | 23% | 25% | 24% | 29% |
| (< 0.001) | (0.009) | (0.042) | (0.061) | (0.380) | ||
| Mobility Impairmentb | 42% | 41% | 39% | 46% | 47% | 58% |
| (0.845) | (0.492) | (0.433) | (0.414) | (0.096) | ||
| Recent Fallc | 30% | 29% | 34% | 31% | 45% | 43% |
| (0.807) | (0.466) | (0.815) | (0.006) | (0.054) | ||
| Hearing Impairmentd | 45% | 31% | 31% | 38% | 40% | 27% |
| (0.008) | (0.011) | (0.198) | (0.489) | (0.017) | ||
| Incontinencee | 27% | 18% | 23% | 19% | 21% | 32% |
| (0.042) | (0.327) | (0.128) | (0.303) | (0.510) | ||
| Multimorbidityf | 69% | 79% | 74% | 80% | 81% | 78% |
| (0.043) | (0.345) | (0.033) | (0.093) | (0.232) | ||
aDifficulty in one or more of the five Activities of Daily Living (bathing, eating, toileting, dressing, transferring)
bDifficulty walking several blocks
cA fall within the last 2 years (HRS); A fall within the last 3 months (jail-based population)
dA response of “poor” or “fair” to “Is your hearing excellent, very good, good, fair or poor?”
eA response of “yes” to “have you lost any amount of urine beyond your control?” in the last 2 years in the HRS population or the last 3 months in the jail-based population
fTwo or more medical conditions (hypertension, diabetes, cancer, lung disease, heart disease, stroke, arthritis); for jail inmates, HIV and Hepatitis C were also included