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Obesity is a risk factor for homebound status among older persons
Author(s) -
Jensen Gordon Lee,
Silver Heidi J,
Roy MarieAndree,
Callahan Eve,
Still Christopher,
Dupont William
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.5.lb85-c
Subject(s) - medicine , logistic regression , obesity , cohort , univariate analysis , stepwise regression , gerontology , univariate , demography , cohort study , multivariate analysis , multivariate statistics , statistics , mathematics , sociology
Objective To test whether obesity is a predictor of risk for reporting homebound status. Methods A cohort study was conducted with 21,645 community‐dwelling men and women aged 65–97 years. A nutrition screen was administered baseline between 1994–1999 and again 3–4 years later. Univariate analyses identified baseline variables associated with subsequent reporting of homebound status. Multivariable logistic regression models were created to identify baseline variables that were significant independent predictors of reporting homebound status. Results At baseline 24% of the cohort had BMI ≥ 30. There were 12,834 (45% male) respondents at follow up (68% response). Non‐responders differed little from responders. At follow up those who reported homebound status (n=169) were significantly (p<0.001) older (80.3 ± 7.3 versus 75.1 ± 5.5 years) and more likely to report functional limitations (83.4% versus 10.8%). Univariate analyses identified 16 baseline variables which were eliminated stepwise until 5 significant independent predictors remained: age ≥ 75 years (2.21, 1.55–3.15 / OR, 95% CI), BMI ≥ 35 (1.75, 1.04–2.96), poor appetite (2.50, 1.29–4.86), low income (1.59, 1.00–2.56), and any functional limitation (10.67, 7.36–15.46). Discussion Obesity remained a significant independent predictor for reporting homebound status and should be considered in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of services for older persons. Support ‐ USDA, ARS, Agreement 58‐1950‐1‐137.