Individual and Environmental Determinants of Late-Life Community Disability for Persons Aging With Cardiovascular Disease

Objective To estimate the prevalence of late-life community disability for adults aged 65 and older with cardiovascular disease vs. those without. This study also investigated the contributions of environmental and individual risk factors on late-life community disability for persons with cardiovascular disease. Design Secondary data analysis of the 2016 round of the National Health and Aging Trends Study. The study sample included community-dwelling Americans with cardiovascular disease (n=1,490) and without (n=4,819). Logistic regression was used to estimate associations between individual risk factors, environmental factors, and community disability for those with CVD. Results Individuals with cardiovascular disease had a significantly higher prevalence of late-life community disability than those without (44.8% vs. 29.0%). For persons with CVD, lack of transportation, home modification, and needing assistance with mobility increased the odds of community disability. Younger age and lower comorbidity were associated with decreased odds of community disability. When accounting for environmental factors in multivariate analyses, sex, race, and education were not significantly associated with community disability. Conclusion Late-life community disability is highly prevalent for persons aging with cardiovascular disease. Intervention strategies to deter late-life community disablement should focus on improving access to transportation and improving the community environment in which older adults live. Correspondence: Tamra Keeney, PhD, DPT, CCS, 36 1st Avenue, Boston, MA 02129, Phone: 314-401-8701. Email: TKeeney1@partners.org. Author Disclosures: The authors have no competing interests or financial benefits related to this work. Funding Source: none Previous Presentation: This work was submitted for review as a poster presentation at the forthcoming Gerontological Society of America 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting. Copyright © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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