Background/Purpose: To examine the relation between obesity and life-space Assessment (LSA) mobility at 2-year of follow-up among older Mexican Americans with and without arthritis.

Methods: Two-year prospective study of  Mexican-American men and women aged >75 years and older residing in five southwestern states in the U.S. Data on socio-demographic variables, medical conditions, disability, body mass index (BMI), and the LSA were collected. The LSA is an instrument that assesses the range, independency, and frequency of movement in the past four weeks preceding the interview. The LSA composite scores ranged from 0 to 120, with higher scores representing greater mobility.

Results: Out of 624 subjects, 65.5 % reported arthritis. Mean score for the LSA instrument was 40.8 (SD=20.7) in subjects with arthritis and 45.5 (SD=20.0) in subjects without arthritis. Multiple regression analysis stratified by arthritis was conducted. The association between obesity (BMI ≥ 30 Kg/m²) and the LSA mobility in subjects with arthritis was statistically significant (β= –6.49, SE=2.22, p=0.0036), after controlling for all covariates. The association between obesity (BMI ≥ 30 Kg/m²) and the LSA mobility in subjects without arthritis was non-significant (β= -0.75, SE=3.20, p=0.8157), after controlling for all covariates.

Conclusion: The association between obesity and lower Life-Space mobility differed by arthritis status in older Mexican Americans. Among subjects with arthritis, obesity maintained a negative and independent association with Life-space mobility in models controlling for all factors that can influence mobility patterns. Conversely, obesity did not seem to affect life-space mobility in subjects without arthritis.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/obesity-and-life-space-mobility-among-older-mexican-americans-with-and-without-arthritis/