PSS6 Identification of Healthcare Expenditures Associated with Frequent Exercise Status Among United States Older Adults with Self-Reported PAIN

Abstract

Frequent exercise is often recommended for older adults with pain, however the association between frequent exercise and healthcare expenditures in this population is unknown. This study sought to identify if differences exist in the healthcare expenditures of older United States (US) adults with pain who reported frequent exercise versus those who did not. This cross-sectional study included a nationally-representative sample of US adults from the 2018 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey who were aged ≥50 years, alive during the calendar year, with self-reported pain in the past four weeks, and positive total healthcare expenditures. The independent variable was frequent exercise status, defined as doing ≥30 minutes of moderate-vigorous intensity physical activity ≥5 times per week. Adjusted linear regression models assessed differences in total annual healthcare expenditures between individuals who reported frequent exercise and those who did not. Secondary analyses assessed differences between the groups for: emergency room; inpatient; office-based; outpatient; other; and prescription medication expenditures. Cost data were logarithmically transformed for analysis. Analyses accounted for the complex survey design. The a priori alpha level was 0.05. An estimated 23,940,144 of 56,979,267 older US adults with pain reported frequent exercise. Frequent exercise status was associated with all personal characteristics except ethnicity, census region, and smoking status (p>0.05). In adjusted analyses, individuals who reported frequent exercise had 15% lower annual prescription medication expenditures compared to those who did not report frequent exercise (β=-0.16, p=0.007). There were no statistical differences between frequent exercise status for the other categories of healthcare expenditures (p>0.05). Adjusted annual prescription medication expenditures were 15% lower among older US adults with pain who reported frequent exercise versus those who did not, while there was no difference between frequent exercise status for all other healthcare expenditures. Future research should investigate clinical and humanistic outcomes between frequent exercise status in this population.