Socioeconomic inequalities in physical function decline: multilevel longitudinal results from the HABITAT study
Abstract Background Australia’s population is ageing, with a projected continued increase in the proportion of individuals aged 65 years and older. Good physical function is important to ensure independence and mobility among older adults. This study examined changes in physical function by socioeco...
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2025-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23309-8 |
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| author | Jerome N Rachele Venurs Loh Anna Timperio Jenny Veitch Rees Thomas Rebecca A Reid Wendy J Brown |
| author_facet | Jerome N Rachele Venurs Loh Anna Timperio Jenny Veitch Rees Thomas Rebecca A Reid Wendy J Brown |
| author_sort | Jerome N Rachele |
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| description | Abstract Background Australia’s population is ageing, with a projected continued increase in the proportion of individuals aged 65 years and older. Good physical function is important to ensure independence and mobility among older adults. This study examined changes in physical function by socioeconomic indicators including education, occupation, household income and neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage. Methods Data were from waves four (2013) and five (2016) (1,186 men and 1,673 women) of the HABITAT study, a multilevel longitudinal study of adults aged 40–65 at baseline (2007) living in 200 neighbourhoods in Brisbane, Australia. Individual-level socioeconomic indicators were self-reported and physical function was self-reported using the 10-item subscale of the Short-Form 36 survey, with scores ranging from 0 to 100. Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage was obtained from a census-based Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage score. Data were analysed using multilevel linear regression. Results Pooled analysis showed graded inequalities in physical function across all socioeconomic groups: those with lower levels of education, occupation and household income all had lower function, while residents of the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods had 8.16 lower function (95%CI: 10.21, 6.12) than those in the most advantaged neighbourhoods. Over the three-year period, there was a mean reduction in physical function scores of 1.97 (95%CI: -2.58, -1.36), though physical function inequalities did not widen over time between socioeconomic groups. Conclusion There was little evidence of inequalities in the magnitude of decline in physical function across socioeconomic groups between the two time points. Future research should consider more objective performance-based measures to better understand the complexity of physical function among the ageing population. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
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| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-9bcb9e055dfd41cc84e581f9cc338ed22025-08-20T03:45:41ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582025-07-012511910.1186/s12889-025-23309-8Socioeconomic inequalities in physical function decline: multilevel longitudinal results from the HABITAT studyJerome N Rachele0Venurs Loh1Anna Timperio2Jenny Veitch3Rees Thomas4Rebecca A Reid5Wendy J Brown6College of Sport, Health, and Engineering, Victoria UniversityCollege of Sport, Health, and Engineering, Victoria UniversityInstitute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin UniversityInstitute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin UniversityCollege of Sport, Health, and Engineering, Victoria UniversityCollege of Sport, Health, and Engineering, Victoria UniversityFaculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond UniversityAbstract Background Australia’s population is ageing, with a projected continued increase in the proportion of individuals aged 65 years and older. Good physical function is important to ensure independence and mobility among older adults. This study examined changes in physical function by socioeconomic indicators including education, occupation, household income and neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage. Methods Data were from waves four (2013) and five (2016) (1,186 men and 1,673 women) of the HABITAT study, a multilevel longitudinal study of adults aged 40–65 at baseline (2007) living in 200 neighbourhoods in Brisbane, Australia. Individual-level socioeconomic indicators were self-reported and physical function was self-reported using the 10-item subscale of the Short-Form 36 survey, with scores ranging from 0 to 100. Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage was obtained from a census-based Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage score. Data were analysed using multilevel linear regression. Results Pooled analysis showed graded inequalities in physical function across all socioeconomic groups: those with lower levels of education, occupation and household income all had lower function, while residents of the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods had 8.16 lower function (95%CI: 10.21, 6.12) than those in the most advantaged neighbourhoods. Over the three-year period, there was a mean reduction in physical function scores of 1.97 (95%CI: -2.58, -1.36), though physical function inequalities did not widen over time between socioeconomic groups. Conclusion There was little evidence of inequalities in the magnitude of decline in physical function across socioeconomic groups between the two time points. Future research should consider more objective performance-based measures to better understand the complexity of physical function among the ageing population.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23309-8Physical functionAgeingSocial inequalitiesNeighbourhoodBuilt environment |
| spellingShingle | Jerome N Rachele Venurs Loh Anna Timperio Jenny Veitch Rees Thomas Rebecca A Reid Wendy J Brown Socioeconomic inequalities in physical function decline: multilevel longitudinal results from the HABITAT study BMC Public Health Physical function Ageing Social inequalities Neighbourhood Built environment |
| title | Socioeconomic inequalities in physical function decline: multilevel longitudinal results from the HABITAT study |
| title_full | Socioeconomic inequalities in physical function decline: multilevel longitudinal results from the HABITAT study |
| title_fullStr | Socioeconomic inequalities in physical function decline: multilevel longitudinal results from the HABITAT study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Socioeconomic inequalities in physical function decline: multilevel longitudinal results from the HABITAT study |
| title_short | Socioeconomic inequalities in physical function decline: multilevel longitudinal results from the HABITAT study |
| title_sort | socioeconomic inequalities in physical function decline multilevel longitudinal results from the habitat study |
| topic | Physical function Ageing Social inequalities Neighbourhood Built environment |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23309-8 |
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