Framingham disability study: Relationship of disability to cardiovascular risk factors among persons free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease

The relationship between physical disability and cardiovascular risk factors among persons free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease was examined. Between 1948 and 1951, a cohort of adult, Framingham, Massachusetts, residents was assembled for a longitudinal examination of cardiovascular disease. Twenty-seven years after the participants' initial examination (between 1976 and 1978), members of the cohort who were still participating in the Framingham Heart Study were interviewed to ascertain their self-assessed ability to perform various physical activities. A score on the cumulative disability index was assigned to 2,021 persons free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease. Analyses controlled for noncardiovascular health conditions which were identified as related to disability. Among women, both long-term and current hypertension and body mass index, as well as diabetes, were associated with disability. Among men, long-term hypertension was related to disability. Age-specific analyses indicated that, for women, current hypertension was statistically significantly related to disability in the middle and oldest age groups; long-term hypertension was related to disability in the middle age group. Both long-term and current measures of diabetes in the oldest age group and long-term measure of cigarette use in the middle age group of women were also related to disability. Age-specific analyses among men indicated that the only statistically significant risk factor was long-term hypertension in the youngest age group. Cholesterol was not related to disability. Results suggest that certain cardiovascular risk factors should be considered in efforts to understand further the development of disability.