Alcohol use and health outcomes in the oldest old

Table 5 Wave 1 predictors of a decrease in drinking between Wave 1 and Wave 2.

	Drank same amount Wave 1 and Wave 2 N = 1817	Decreased amount between Wave 1 and Wave 2 N = 991	Test Statistic (df)	p-value
Wave 1 Variable
% Male	52.1	54.9	χ²(1) = 2.1	0.15
Mean Age (sd)	76.2(5.2)	77.0(5.8)	χ²(1) = 7.4	0.007
Race			χ²(2) = 27.7	0.0001
Caucasian	93.2	87.4
African American	5.9	10.7
Other	0.8	1.9
% Married/partner	61.2	53.9	χ²(1) = 14.4	0.0002
Education Years (sd)	12.3(3.1)	11.2(3.6)	χ²(1) = 60.9	0.0001
Self Rated Health mean (sd)	2.6(1.1)	2.9(1.1)	χ²(1) = 60.1	0.0001
Mean # Chronic Illnesses (sd)	1.3(1.1)	1.4(1.2)	χ²(1) = 20.4	0.0001
% Stroke	6.7	8.6	χ²(1) = 3.5	0.06
% Heart Disease	25.3	30.5	χ²(1) = 8.7	.0003
% Diabetes	6.8	11.8	χ²(1) = 20.7	0.0001
% Falls	6.4	7.3	χ²(1) = 0.70	0.40
% Hip Fracture	3.7	3.2	χ²(1) = 0.49	0.48
% any ADL	15.3	25.9	χ²(1) = 47.0	0.0001
% any IADL	16.3	25.1	χ²(1) = 32	0.0001
Mean CES-D (sd)	1.1(1.6)	1.6(1.9)	χ²(1) = 37.9	0.0001
Mean TICS-R (sd)	21.8(4.8)	20.1(5.4)	χ²(1) = 59.1	0.0001

Note: Kruskal Wallis tests were used for continuous variables (age, education) as these did not have normal distributions. Means and standard deviations are given for descriptive purposes only. BMI = Body Mass Index, ADL = Activities of Daily Living, IADL = Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, TICS-R = Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status- Revised. Due to missing data for proxy interviews, the n for analyses using the CES-D is 1737 and 903 for the two groups. For analyses using the TICS-R, the n = 1693 and 878 for the two groups.

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