Table 1.
National estimates based on characteristics of NHATS participants at baseline by functional disability trajectories
| All | No disability | Mild increasing disability | Severe increasing disability | p-valued | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population-weighted estimates of trajectories | 35,305,630 | 26,941,212 | 4,922,933 | 3,441,485 | |
| Demographics | |||||
| Age (%) | <0.0001 | ||||
| 65-74 | 52.9 | 59.7 | 36.7 | 22.5 | |
| 75-84 | 33.7 | 32.2 | 39.3 | 38.0 | |
| 85+ | 13.4 | 8.1 | 24.0 | 39.5 | |
| Female (%) | 56.6 | 54.4 | 61.9 | 66.1 | <0.0001 |
| White, non-Hispanic (%) | 81.5 | 82.6 | 79.37 | 75.4 | <0.0001 |
| ≥ High school (%) | 78.2 | 81.4 | 71.2 | 63.1 | <0.0001 |
| Living with someone (%) | 70.2 | 70.8 | 69.0 | 67.6 | <.0001 |
| BMI | <0.0001 | ||||
| <25 normal | 34.4 | 32.7 | 37.1 | 44.6 | |
| 25 – 29.9 overweight | 37.7 | 39.6 | 32.0 | 31.1 | |
| ≥30 obese | 27.8 | 27.7 | 30.9 | 24.4 | |
| Cognition | |||||
| Dementia (%) | <0.0001 | ||||
| No cognitive impairment | 79.0 | 86.1 | 68.9 | 38.1 | |
| Possible dementia | 10.9 | 9.4 | 15.8 | 15.5 | |
| Probable dementia | 10.0 | 4.4 | 15.3 | 46.4 | |
| Used proxy for interview | 5.8 | 2.2 | 6.8 | 32.8 | <0.0001 |
| Health | |||||
| Diabetes present (%) | 23.9 | 21.4 | 29.7 | 34.7 | <0.0001 |
| Heart disease present (%) | 17.5 | 15.0 | 22.7 | 29.4 | <0.0001 |
| Complicated-self-care present (diabetes and/or heart disease (%) | 35.1 | 31.6 | 43.5 | 50.8 | <0.0001 |
| Total chronic conditions c mean, (SD) | 1.9 (0.02) | 1.8 (0.02) | 2.3 (0.04) | 2.5 (0.05) | <0.0001 |
| Self-rated health | <0.0001 | ||||
| Excellent | 14.8 | 17.6 | 6.6 | 4.6 | |
| Very good | 29.5 | 33.5 | 19.1 | 13.0 | |
| Good | 30.7 | 30.7 | 35.2 | 24.1 | |
| Fair | 18.4 | 14.9 | 27.5 | 32.3 | |
| Poor | 6.7 | 3.3 | 11.7 | 25.9 | |
| Hospital stays in last 12 months (%) | 21.0 | 16.5 | 29.3 | 45.0 | <0.0001 |
| Function | |||||
| Total ADLa (mean, SD) | 0.4 (0.01) | 0.025 (0.003) | 0.4 (0.02) | 2.9 (0.08) | <0.0001 |
| Help with at least one ADL (%) | 14.2 | 2.2 | 31.2 | 85.4 | <0.0001 |
| Total IADLb (mean, SD) | 0.8 (0.03) | 0.3 (0.02) | 1.2 (0.06) | 4.0 (0.02) | <0.0001 |
| Shopping assistance (%) | 17.7 | 7.1 | 32.4 | 77.9 | <0.0001 |
| Meals assistance (%) | 11.4 | 4.2 | 15.5 | 61.3 | <0.0001 |
| Medication assistance (%) | 10.0 | 4.1 | 13.3 | 52.2 | <0.0001 |
Note. There were 7,609 people included from the National Health and Aging Trends study, representing 35.3 million older adults.
Total activities of daily living score (ADL) consisted of: Eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring from bed and getting around inside one’s home.
Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) score consisted of a sum score of help with: meals, laundry, housework, groceries, money, medications and the telephone. With both scales higher scores mean increased dependency.
Sum of chronic conditions included: Blood pressure, Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Lung disease, Stroke and Cancer.
P-values represent second-order chi-square values for categorical variables against group membership and analysis of variance for continuous variables compared to group membership.