BACKGROUND: Older persons reporting disability are more likely to report poor self-rated health, but little work has been done to assess the independent relationships of reported walking difficulty and measured walking performance with self-rated health. This study examines the associations of walking difficulty, walking speed, and age with self-rated health in older women. METHODS: The data are from the baseline of the Women's Health and Aging Study. Difficulty walking one quarter mile was used as a measure of mobility in the representative population aged 65 and older screened for the study (n = 3841) and in the one third most disabled study group (n = 1002). Maximal walking speed was measured in the study sample. RESULTS: Increasing severity of walking difficulty (in the screened population and in the disabled study group), slower walking speed (in the study group), and younger age were all associated with fair or poor self-rated health, after simultaneous adjustment for these and other objective measures of physical performance and health. The associations of both measures of walking with self-rated health weakened with age. CONCLUSIONS: Both walking difficulty and walking speed are independent determinants of self-rated health. Adjusted for health and functioning, self-rated health tends to improve with age.
BACKGROUND: Older persons reporting disability are more likely to report poor self-rated health, but little work has been done to assess the independent relationships of reported walking difficulty and measured walking performance with self-rated health. This study examines the associations of walking difficulty, walking speed, and age with self-rated health in older women. METHODS: The data are from the baseline of the Women's Health and Aging Study. Difficulty walking one quarter mile was used as a measure of mobility in the representative population aged 65 and older screened for the study (n = 3841) and in the one third most disabled study group (n = 1002). Maximal walking speed was measured in the study sample. RESULTS: Increasing severity of walking difficulty (in the screened population and in the disabled study group), slower walking speed (in the study group), and younger age were all associated with fair or poor self-rated health, after simultaneous adjustment for these and other objective measures of physical performance and health. The associations of both measures of walking with self-rated health weakened with age. CONCLUSIONS: Both walking difficulty and walking speed are independent determinants of self-rated health. Adjusted for health and functioning, self-rated health tends to improve with age.
Authors: Peter J Snyder; Susan S Ellenberg; Glenn R Cunningham; Alvin M Matsumoto; Shalender Bhasin; Elizabeth Barrett-Connor; Thomas M Gill; John T Farrar; David Cella; Raymond C Rosen; Susan M Resnick; Ronald S Swerdloff; Jane A Cauley; Denise Cifelli; Laura Fluharty; Marco Pahor; Kristine E Ensrud; Cora E Lewis; Mark E Molitch; Jill P Crandall; Christina Wang; Matthew J Budoff; Nanette K Wenger; Emile R Mohler; Diane E Bild; Nakela L Cook; Tony M Keaveny; David L Kopperdahl; David Lee; Ann V Schwartz; Thomas W Storer; William B Ershler; Cindy N Roy; Leslie J Raffel; Sergei Romashkan; Evan Hadley Journal: Clin Trials Date: 2014-06 Impact factor: 2.486
Authors: Alexandre Millecamps; Kristin A Lowry; Jennifer S Brach; Subashan Perera; Mark S Redfern; Ervin Sejdić Journal: Comput Biol Med Date: 2015-04-04 Impact factor: 4.589
Authors: Anda Botoseneanu; Walter T Ambrosius; Daniel P Beavers; Nathalie de Rekeneire; Stephen Anton; Timothy Church; Sara C Folta; Bret H Goodpaster; Abby C King; Barbara J Nicklas; Bonnie Spring; Xuewen Wang; Thomas M Gill Journal: J Am Geriatr Soc Date: 2015-01-30 Impact factor: 5.562
Authors: Marla K Beauchamp; Suzanne G Leveille; Kushang V Patel; Dan K Kiely; Caroline L Phillips; Stefania Bandinelli; Luigi Ferrucci; Jack Guralnik; Jonathan F Bean Journal: Am J Phys Med Rehabil Date: 2014-05 Impact factor: 2.159