Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (238)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by LaCroix, A. Z.
Right arrow Articles by Satterfield, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by LaCroix, A. Z.
Right arrow Articles by Satterfield, S.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 137, No. 8: 858-869
Copyright © 1993 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health

research-article

Maintaining Mobility in Late Life. II. Smoking, Alcohol Consumption, Physical Activity, and Body Mass Index

Andrea Z. LaCroix1,, Jack M. Guralnik2, Lisa F. Berkman3, Robert B. Wallace4 and Suzanne Satterfield5

1Center for Health Studies, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound and Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington Seattle, WA
2Epidemiology, Demography, and Biometry Program, National Institute on Aging Bethesda, MD
3Department of Epidemiology, Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, CT
4Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health, University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
5Channirig Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center Boston, MA

Reprint requests to Dr. Andrea Z. LaCroix, Center for Health Studies, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, 1730 Minor Avenue, Suite 1600, Seattle, WA 98101-1448.

While positive health behaviors have been shown to extend life, their association with extending active life has not been well investigated. In this report, several health behaviors were investigated in relation to maintaining mobility during 4 years of follow-up among 6,981 men and women aged 65 years and older with intact mobility at baseline between 1981 and 1983 who lived in one of three communities: East Boston, Massachusetts; Iowa and Washington counties, Iowa; and New Haven, Connecticut. Intact mobility, defined as the ability to climb up and down stairs and walk a half mile, was determined annually by interview, and study subjects were classified into one of three categories at the end of 4 years of follow-up: 1) maintained mobility (55.1%); 2) lost mobility (36.2%); or 3) died without evidence of having lost mobility prior to death (8.7%). After adjustment for age and all of the health behaviors, risk of losing mobility was significantly associated with current smoking, not consuming alcohol compared with small-to-moderate amounts of alcohol consumption, high (>80th percentile) compared with moderate (21-80th percentiles) body mass index, and low physical activity levels in both men and women. These findings suggest that positive health behaviors can not only extend longevity but also reduce the risk of losing mobility and independence in later life.

activities of daily living; aged; alcohol drinking; body mass index; exercise; handicapped; prospective studies; smoking


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.