Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #104729

Elizabeth K. Rasch, PT MS¹, Barbara M. Altman, PhD¹, Marc C. Hochberg, MD, MPH², and Jay Magaziner, PhD, MSHyg³. (1) Office of Analysis and Epidemiology, National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 6110, Hyattsville, MD 20782, 301-458-4248, ERasch@cdc.gov, (2) Division of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 10 South Pine Street, MSTF 8-34, Baltimore, MD 21201, (3) Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Howard Hall, Suite 200, 660 West Redwood Street, Baltimore, MD 21201

Approximately one of every five non-institutionalized adults in the U.S. reports some type of disability.¹ This is significant since their health is, in aggregate, worse than that of the general population.^2,3 Although the health of persons with disabilities is currently a national priority,⁴ there is a lack of data to inform this issue at the national level. This research compares the extent of prevalent and incident health conditions in nationally representative groups of persons with mobility limitations (ML), other limitations (OL), and no limitations (NL). Data from the 1996-97 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey were used. Self-reported health conditions and limitations were collected longitudinally through five rounds of interviews. Respondents were categorized into three groups; those reporting difficulty climbing stairs, walking, standing, bending, or use of mobility devices (ML); those reporting any other limitation (OL); and all others (NL). Prevalent conditions (Round 1) were differentiated from incident conditions (Rounds 2-5). The analytic sample included adults (>18 years) with data over the 2-year period (n=12,317). Sample weights and SUDAAN were used for statistical analyses. Adults with ML had a greater number of and more severe limitations than those with OL. They had more prevalent conditions (median=2.7(CI 2.5, 2.8)) relative to those with OL (1.5(CI 1.4, 1.7)) or NL (0.49(CI 0.45, 0.54)) and more incident conditions (ML: 3.7(CI 3.4, 4.0); OL: 2.9(CI 2.6, 3.1); NL: 1.6(CI 1.5, 1.7)). Given the magnitude and negative consequences of comorbid and secondary health conditions among persons with ML, greater public health and research attention is warranted.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to describe the health of community dwelling adults in the U.S. with mobility limitations compared to those with other limitations and without limitations based on the extent of prevalent comorbid health conditions and the occurrence of incident health conditions.

Keywords: Disability, Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.