PHYSICAL FUNCTION AMONG RETIREMENT-AGED AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN

Prior attempts to identify factors associated with physical function ( here, major lower body movements) among African Americans have been co nstrained by a narrow range of measures, small sample sizes, or both. The 1992 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) contains a substantial over -sample of African Americans (649 men and 957 women self-respondents a ged 51 to 61 years), and detailed measures of high-risk behaviors, dis ease prevalence and severity, impairment, and physical function. We ex tend the natural history of disease to the natural history of function al status and model sociodemographic characteristics, high-risk behavi ors, disease prevalence and severity, and impairments as direct and in direct influences on physical function in this African American sample . This natural history of functional status model fits the data well f or both men (ROC = .88) and women (ROC = .83), although there are gend er differences. Slightly over one-half of the women report some diffic ulty in physical function, compared with one-third of the men. Women a lso have a higher mean body-mass and report a greater prevalence and s everity in 6 of 9 chronic diseases and more pain, but are less likely to smoke or abuse alcohol than men. Importantly, many of the factors w ith the largest direct and indirect associations with difficulty in ph ysical function among these African American men (alcohol abuse, smoki ng, body mass, diabetes, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, arthr itis, and pain) and women (alcohol abuse, body mass, arthritis, and re spiratory illness) are all potentially preventable or manageable.