Physical Performance Changes Across Race and Region Among Black and White Older Adults

Do demographic, cardiovascular, socioeconomic, and cognitive factors or geography explain differences in physical performance measures among Black and White older adults?In this cohort study of 5666 participants, 10-year decline in physical performance was twice as steep for Black participants compared with White participants, with a clinically meaningful absolute difference, after adjusting for a range of factors. Marked between-regions differences within races were observed; White participants across some states were more different than Black participants compared with White participants within the same state.This study suggests that racial differences in declining physical performance among older adults were not explained by socioeconomic, cardiovascular, or cognitive factors and may be associated with undefined regional exposures.

Corresponding Author: B. Gwen Windham, MD, MHS, The Memory Impairment and Neurodegenerative Dementia (MIND) Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 N State St, Jackson, MS 39216 (gwindham@umc.edu).

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