The Impact of Weather on Mobility and Participation in Older US Adults

Objectives. We examined the impact of weather on the daily lives of US adults to understand which populations are most vulnerable to various weather conditions.Methods. Data came from a 2013 supplement to the University of Michigan–Thomson Reuters Surveys of Consumers, a nationally representative telephone survey of 502 adults in the contiguous United States. We used logistic regressions to assess the odds of mobility difficulty and participation restriction during different weather conditions, as well as age group differences.Results. Ice was most likely to change the way respondents got around (reported by 47%). In icy conditions, participants had difficulty leaving home (40%) and driving (35%). Facing ice, older adults (≥ 65 years) had twice the odds of having great difficulty leaving home (odds ratio [OR] = 2.22; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.12, 4.42) and curtailing work or volunteer activities (OR = 2.01; 95% CI = 1.01, 4.06), and 3 times the odds of difficulty driving (OR = 3.33; 95% CI = 1.62, 6.86) as younger respondents. We also found significant differences in mobility and participation by gender and region of residence.Conclusions. Weather can affect social isolation, health, well-being, and mortality among older US adults.Increasing attention is being paid to the impact of extreme weather (e.g., heat waves, hurricanes) on population health.1–7 However, the challenges of day-to-day weather have not received as much attention, particularly for older adults, who are more vulnerable to weather-related factors because of their limited mobility and social isolation.2,8 As a result, we have little knowledge of how weather-related factors (e.g., reduced daylight hours during winter, slippery surfaces caused by rain or snow) affect mobility and independence in day-to-day life and how these effects vary across persons, regions, and seasons.Mobility, defined as the ability to move about effectively in our surroundings,9,10 is important for independence, quality of life, and mortality.11–13 Independent mobility is also important for participation in day-to-day activities, such as work or volunteer activities, grocery shopping, and engaging in physical activity. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health conceptualizes mobility and participation as part of a complex biopsychosocial model of health and function that includes interactions with environmental factors, such as climate and weather, which can act as either barriers or facilitators to activities and participation.14Studies examining the health impact of weather-related factors have tended to focus almost exclusively on mortality or morbidity as an outcome.3,15–21 But the ability to move and travel and to participate in daily activities is important for health and is also likely to depend on weather-related factors. Some of America’s major cities receive an average of more than 2 meters of snow every year and have snow on the ground for more than 3 months each year. Previous studies showed that icy and slushy surfaces and snow banks are the most frequently named barriers to mobility among pedestrians during winter, particularly for people with underlying limitations in physical functioning.22,23 Li et al. found that 37% of older adults in Toronto, Canada, reduced their outdoor walking during the winter when expecting slippery road conditions.24 Similarly, qualitative work with older adults in Detroit, Michigan, found that a fear of falling on ice, sidewalks not cleared of snow and ice, and cold and rainy weather discouraged walking outdoors.25 Car use may increase in winter for adults fearful of falling on the way to the bus stop, but can also decrease because of fear of driving on icy roads or in the dark.26However, a lack of data from a representative sample of adults across the United States limits our understanding of the weather-related factors that are important for mobility and participation across a range of activities and risk groups (e.g., by age, gender, or geographic region). We used nationally representative data to examine the impact of weather-related factors on the daily lives of US adults to understand which populations are most vulnerable to weather conditions and exactly what those conditions are.