Here - American Geriatrics Society

P OSTER
A BSTRACTS
who reported an MD diagnosis of arthritis were asked to identify the
location of their arthritis as well as the presence of pain and stiffness
in their joints. Life-space (LS) was measured by distance, frequency
and independence of movement within four weeks of the interview
(range 0-120; higher scores represent greater mobility). Linear regression
was used to examine the association of arthritis with LS adjusting
for age, race, gender, rural residence, comorbidity, BMI, depression
and cognitive impairment. LS among participants reporting
a diagnosis of arthritis was examined using ANOVA according to location,
number of joint types involved and the presence of joint pain
and/or stiffness.
Results: Of 1000 participants (50% male; 50% African American;
51% rural; mean age (SD)=75.3 (6.7)), 662 reported an MD diagnosis
of arthritis. Elders with arthritis had a significantly lower mean
(SD) LS than those without arthritis (60.8±24.9 vs. 70.6±23.7 respectively;
p