title: Relationship between Objectively Measured Transportation Behaviors and Health Characteristics in Older Adults.
abstract: This study used objective Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to investigate the relationship between pedestrian and vehicle trips to physical, cognitive, and psychological functioning in older adults living in retirement communities. Older adults (N = 279; mean age = 83 ± 6 years) wore a GPS and accelerometer for 6 days. Participants completed standard health measures. The Personal Activity and Location Measurement System (PALMS) was used to calculate the average daily number of trips, distance, and minutes traveled for pedestrian and vehicle trips from the combined GPS and accelerometer data. Linear mixed effects regression models explored relationships between these transportation variables and physical, psychological and cognitive functioning. Number, distance, and minutes of pedestrian trips were positively associated with physical and psychological functioning but not cognitive functioning. Number of vehicle trips was negatively associated with fear of falls; there were no other associations between the vehicle trip variables and functioning. Vehicle travel did not appear to be related to functioning in older adults in retirement communities except that fear of falling was related to number of vehicle trips. Pedestrian trips had moderate associations with multiple physical and psychological functioning measures, supporting a link between walking and many aspects of health in older adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine Public Health, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA. miblack@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takemoto
authors.affiliation: Center for Children's Healthy Lifestyles and Nutrition, Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO 60148, USA. jacarlson@cmh.edu.
authors.forename: Jordan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Carlson
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. Kevin.Moran@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Moran
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine Public Health, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA. sgodbole@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Suneeta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Godbole
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine Public Health, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA. kcrist@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Crist
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine Public Health, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093, USA. jkerr@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kerr
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014195:Travel / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016138:Walking / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Global Positioning System (GPS); cognitive functioning; health; life-space mobility; older adults; physical functioning; physical mobility; psychological functioning