Assessing the association of walking with health services use and costs among socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults

Background. The costs of physical inactivity are beginning to be recognized . Research to pinpoint these costs will provide needed information for rese archers and policy-makers to develop cost-effective physical activity promo tion programs. We present the association of walking with health services u se and costs within a sample of 695 older, urban primary care patients. Methods, A survey provided most data, but utilization and cost data were ob tained from a medical records system. Multivariate models were developed to assess the association of walking with health services use and costs, adju sting for sociodemographic characteristics, chronic disease, health status, and previous utilization. Results. Thirty-eight percent of respondents reported walking 0 minutes per week, 49% walked 1 to 119 minutes, and 13% walked 120 minutes or more. In the multivariate analyses, a report of walking 120 or more minutes was asso ciated with a lower risk of emergency room visit and hospital stay in the s ubsequent year. No association was found between walking and primary care v isits and total cost. Conclusion. These analyses suggest an association of walking 120 minutes or more with decreased emergency room visits (OR = 0.5, P = 0.046) and hospit al stays (OR = 0.6, P = 0.034), This suggests that physical activity promot ion among socioeconomically disadvantaged older adults has the potential to provide cost savings. This will not be known, however, until physical acti vity can be promoted and maintained among these adults. (C) 2001 American H ealth Foundation and Academic Press.