Association of Serum Bicarbonate with Incident Functional Limitation in Older Adults

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Figure 1.
Development of persistent lower extremity functional limitation by bicarbonate category (P=0.01 by log rank test).

Table 1.

Participant characteristics by bicarbonate level

Table 2.

Association of serum bicarbonate level and low pH with incident lower extremity functional limitation

Outcome	Hazard Ratio (95% Confidence Interval)
Outcome	Unadjusted	Adjusted for Age, Race, and Sex	Plus CKD	Plus DM, Smoking, BMI, and Diuretic Use	Plus Gait Speed
Any persistent functional limitation
Continuous (per 1 mEq/L lower)	1.07 (1.02 to 1.12)	1.08 (1.04 to 1.14)	1.07 (1.02 to 1.12)	1.08 (1.03 to 1.14)	1.07 (1.02 to 1.12)
≥26 mEq/L	1.0 (reference)	1.0 (reference)	1.0 (reference)	1.0 (reference)	1.0 (reference)
23–25.9 mEq/L	1.19 (0.96 to 1.47)	1.26 (1.02 to 1.56)	1.23 (1.00 to 1.53)	1.32 (1.05 to 1.65)	1.35 (1.08 to 1.68)
<23 mEq/L	1.61 (1.17 to 2.21)	1.69 (1.23 to 2.34)	1.58 (1.14 to 2.18)	1.68 (1.20 to 2.24)	1.58 (1.12 to 2.22)
pH<7.40	1.23 (1.00 to 1.52)	1.08 (0.87 to 1.34)	1.03 (0.83 to 1.28)	1.15 (0.92 to 1.44)	1.10 (0.88 to 1.38)
Severe persistent functional limitation
≥26 mEq/L	1.0 (reference)	1.0 (reference)	1.0 (reference)	1.0 (reference)	1.0 (reference)
23–25.9 mEq/L	1.05 (0.71 to 1.56)	1.09 (0.74 to 1.62)	1.07 (0.72 to 1.59)	1.12 (0.74 to 1.69)	1.14 (0.75 to 1.71)
<23 mEq/L	2.02 (1.19 to 3.45)	2.10 (1.23 to 3.59)	1.87 (1.09 to 3.23)	1.85 (1.04 to 3.27)	1.73 (0.98 to 3.08)
pH<7.40	1.46 (1.20 to 1.78)	1.23(1.05 to 1.58)	1.37 (1.00 to 1.51)	1.32 (1.08 to 1.63)	1.31 (1.06 to 1.61)