The Impact of Weather on Mobility and Participation in Older U.S. Adults

We examined the impact of weather on the daily lives of US adults to understand which populations are most vulnerable to various weather conditions.

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.

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.

Weather can affect social isolation, health, well-being, and mortality among older US adults.