Dataset Information

Social Relationships, Gender, and Recovery From Mobility Limitation Among Older Americans.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Evidence suggests social relationships may be important facilitators for recovery from functional impairment, but the extant literature is limited in its measurement of social relationships including an over emphasis on filial social support and a paucity of nationally representative data.

Methods

Using data from Waves 4-9 (1998-2008) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), this research examines the association between social relationships and recovery from severe mobility limitation (i.e., difficulty walking one block or across the room) among older Americans. Using a more nuanced measure of recovery that includes complete and partial recovery, a series of discrete-time event history models with multiple competing recovery outcomes were estimated using multinomial logistic regression.

Results

Providing instrumental support to peers increased the odds of complete and partial recovery from severe mobility limitation, net of numerous social, and health factors. Having relatives living nearby decreased the odds of complete recovery, while being engaged in one's neighborhood increased the odds of partial recovery. The influence of partner status on partial and complete recovery varied by gender, whereby partnered men were more likely to experience recovery relative to partnered women. The effect of neighborhood engagement on partial recovery also varied by gender. Disengaged women were the least likely to experience partial recovery compared with any other group.

Discussion

The rehabilitative potential of social relationships has important policy implications. Interventions aimed at encouraging older adults with mobility limitation to be engaged in their neighborhoods and/or provide instrumental support to peers may improve functional health outcomes.

SUBMITTER: Latham K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4635643 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Social Relationships, Gender, and Recovery From Mobility Limitation Among Older Americans.

Latham Kenzie K Clarke Philippa J PJ Pavela Greg G

The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences 20150112 5

<h4>Objectives</h4>Evidence suggests social relationships may be important facilitators for recovery from functional impairment, but the extant literature is limited in its measurement of social relationships including an over emphasis on filial social support and a paucity of nationally representative data.<h4>Methods</h4>Using data from Waves 4-9 (1998-2008) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), this research examines the association between social relationships and recovery from severe mo ...[more]

PMID: 25583597

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Project description:BackgroundChronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with multiple comorbidities, hospitalizations and mortality. In older adults, social isolation and poor mobility contribute to these outcomes. We tested the hypothesis that a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) <45 mL/min/1.73 m2 (CKD Stages 3b-5) is associated with social isolation and that mobility limitation is a key driver of social isolation in patients with CKD.MethodsData from 9119 participants, ages 57-107 years, from the 2016 wave of the Health and Retirement Study's Venous Blood Study were used for this cross-sectional analysis. Kidney function measured by estimated GFR (eGFR) was the predictor and patients were classified as CKD Stages 3b-5 or non-CKD Stages 3b-5 (eGFR ≤45 or >45 mL/min/1.73 m2). The outcomes tested were mobility limitation assessed by self-report and social contact and participation measures assessed by the Psychosocial Life Questionnaire. The associations among kidney function, mobility and social isolation were examined with logistic and ordinary least squares regression, adjusted for covariates and testing for interaction with gender.ResultsParticipants with CKD Stages 3b-5 (N = 999) compared with non-CKD Stages 3b-5 were older (74.9 versus 68.2 years, P < 0.001) and fewer were female (15% versus 58%, P < 0.001). CKD Stages 3b-5 were associated with higher odds of difficulty walking several blocks [odds ratio 1.44 (95% confidence interval 1.16-1.78)]. Participants with CKD Stages 3b-5 had reduced social contact and social participation (B = -0.23, P < 0.05; B = -0.62, P < 0.05, respectively). Women with CKD Stages 3b-5 were 2.7 times more likely to report difficulty walking several blocks than men with CKD Stages 3b-5, but social isolation in CKD Stages 3b-5 did not vary by gender. In CKD Stages 3b-5 patients, mobility limitation was a risk factor for reduced social contact and participation but did not explain the poor social contact and participation.ConclusionCKD Stages 3b-5 was associated with both mobility limitation and social isolation in a population-based study of older adults. In contrast to older adults without CKD Stages 3b-5, mobility limitation did not explain the lack of social contact and poor social participation, suggesting other factors are more important.

Dataset Information

Social Relationships, Gender, and Recovery From Mobility Limitation Among Older Americans.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Publications

Social Relationships, Gender, and Recovery From Mobility Limitation Among Older Americans.

Similar Datasets

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