Skip to main content
. 2020 Nov 13;3(11):e2025522. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.25522

Table 1. Population Characteristics by Sensory Impairment Status.

Characteristic Responses, No. (weighted %) P valueb
Overalla Sensory impairment
None HI Only VI Only DSI
Total 10 783 (100) 4250 (40.9) 2822 (25.4) 1557 (14.8) 2154 (18.9) NA
Age, y
<65 1839 (14.7) 767 (13.2) 2822 (8.2) 1557 (27.3) 2154 (17.1) <.001
65-74 3687 (52.3) 1628 (57.6) 246 (51.5) 486 (48.0) 340 (45.3)
≥75 5257 (33.0) 1855 (29.2) 909 (40.3 506 (24.7) 644 (37.7)
Women 5733 (52.9) 2390 (56.2) 1278 (44.4) 940 (59.7) 1125 (51.7) <.001
Race/ethnicity
Non-Hispanic <.001
White 8195 (75.5) 3132 (73.4) 2368 (83.7) 1029 (67.4) 1666 (75.3)
Black 1075 (9.6) 489 (10.8) 144 (5.0) 250 (14.6) 192 (9.0)
Hispanic 869 (7.9) 396 (9.3 160 (5.1) 171 (10.0) 142 (7.1)
Non-Hispanic otherc 644 (7.0) 233 (6.5) 150 (6.2) 107 (8.0) 154 (8.5)
Education
<High school 1803 (14.3) 664 (13.0) 375 (10.6) 353 (20.7) 411 (17.0) <.001
High school or equivalent 3837 (32.9) 1445 (30.5) 1021 (33.9) 568 (34.1) 803 (35.9)
>High school 5143 (52.8) 2141 (56.5) 1426 (55.5) 636 (45.3) 940 (47.1)
Not married 5586 (45.5) 2196 (45.0) 1308 (39.2) 895 (52.2) 1187 (49.9) <.001
Nonmetropolitan area 2702 (19.9) 987 (17.7) 709 (20.6) 379 (18.8) 627 (24.5) <.001
Income poverty ratio Medicare threshold, % of FPL
≤100 1904 (14.5) 795 (14.5) 323 (9.5) 390 (20.1) 396 (16.6) <.001
>100 to ≤120 665 (5.5) 263 (5.2) 134 (4.1) 124 (7.6) 144 (6.5)
>120 to ≤135 528 (4.3) 201 (4.2) 126 (3.8) 85 (4.6) 116 (5.2)
>135 to ≤200 1749 (15.6) 628 (13.9) 462 (15.3) 254 (16.9) 405 (18.5)
>200 5937 (60.1) 2363 (62.2) 1777 (67.4) 704 (50.8) 1093 (53.3)
No supplemental insurance coverage 5508 (46.9) 2188 (45.6) 1251 (39.9) 945 (56.4) 1124 (51.5) <.001
Chronic conditions, No.d
0 740 (7.5) 421 (10.5) 164 (6.9) 81 (5.2) 74 (3.4) <.001
1-2 4208 (41.0) 1958 (48.5) 1065 (39.4) 555 (38.2) 630 (29.0)
3-5 5176 (45.4) 1722 (37.8) 1442 (48.3) 799 (48.5) 1213 (55.8)
>5 659 (6.2) 149 (3.3) 151 (5.5) 122 (8.1) 237 (11.8)
Functional limitations
None 5929 (59.8) 2773 (70.7) 1683 (65.2) 677 (47.5) 796 (38.7) <.001
IADLs
Only 1717 (13.8) 611 (11.7) 430 (13.1) 281 (16.0) 395 (17.4)
1-2 2123 (17.9) 646 (13.1) 512 (15.6) 375 (22.1) 590 (28.1)
3-4 660 (5.6) 142 (2.8) 141 (4.5) 136 (9.2) 241 (10.2)
5-6 354 (2.9) 78 (1.7) 56 (1.6) 88 (5.2) 132 (5.7)

Abbreviations: DSI, dual sensory impairment; FPL, Federal Poverty Level; HI, hearing impairment; IADL, instrumental activities of daily living; VI, vision impairment.

a

Representing 44 736 889 Medicare beneficiaries.

b

Groupwise comparisons using χ2 tests of association for survey data.

c

Racial/ethnic groups included in other were American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.

d

Number of chronic conditions derived as a count of self-reported physician diagnoses of the following conditions: heart disease, myocardial infarction, hypertension, diabetes, stroke, arthritis, cancer, chronic lung disease, mental disorder, and depression.