Table 2.
Participant characteristics for younger and older older adults in this study (n = 100)
| Variables | All (n = 100) |
Younger (n = 53) |
Older (n = 47) |
P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 56(56%) | 33(62.3%) | 23(48.9%) | 0.23 |
| Female | 44(44%) | 20(37.7%) | 24(51.1%) | |
| Age (SD) | 73.0 (7.7) | 67.1 (3.9) | 80.0 (5.1) | < 0.001 |
| Self-reported walking ability (SD)a | 3.3 (1.2) | 3.4 (1.2) | 3.2 (1.2) | 0.36 |
| Fall history in the past year | ||||
| Yes | 18(18%) | 10(18.9%) | 8(17.0%) | 0.81 |
| No | 82(82%) | 43(81.1%) | 39(83.0%) | |
| Fear of falling | ||||
| Almost never | 66(66%) | 39(73.6%) | 27(57.4%) | 0.16 |
| Always | 14(14%) | 7(13.2%) | 7(14.9%) | |
| Occasionally | 20(20%) | 7(13.2%) | 13(27.6%) | |
| Medical conditions | ||||
| Chronic diseases (hypertension, hyperglycaemia, hyperlipemia) | 51(51%) | 22(41.5%) | 29(61.7%) | 0.064 |
| Bone and nerve diseases | 28(28%) | 19(35.8%) | 9(19.1%) | |
| Cardiopulmonary disease | 23(23%) | 10(18.9%) | 13(27.6%) | |
| Eye diseases | 11(11%) | 3(5.7%) | 8(17.0%) | |
| Lower extremity muscle diseases | 8(8%) | 5(9.4%) | 3(6.4%) | |
| None | 22(22%) | 15(28.3%) | 7(14.9%) | |
| Self-reported daily walking amount | ||||
| 1 km and below | 29(29%) | 13(24.5%) | 16(34.0%) | 0.58 |
| 1–3 km | 26(26%) | 13(24.5%) | 13(27.7%) | |
| 3–5 km | 23(23%) | 13(24.5%) | 10(21.3%) | |
| 5 km and above | 22(22%) | 14(26.4%) | 8(17.0%) | |
The categorical variables sex, self-reported walking ability, fall history, and fear of falling were analysed using the chi-squared test, and continuous variables such as age and self-reported walking ability were analysed using one-way analysis of variance
a5-point Likert scale, where 1 = not flexible at all and 5 = very flexible