Socioeconomic status affects motor activity endurance and fear of falling avoidance behaviour in people with lower limb loss

Socioeconomic status has been shown to impact health and health care accessibility in people with lower limb loss [1]. We aim to evaluate specifically how physical activity behaviour and capacity are influenced by socioeconomic status in this population. In the 23 participants, we found that individuals who reported socioeconomic difficulty (SED) walked approximately 60 meters shorter in six-minute walk test (6MWT) and exhibited more fear of falling avoidance behaviour comparing to their peers without socioeconomic difficulty. No difference was found in timed-up-and-go test (TUG) and the vitality score in Short Form Survey (SF36). Our results indicated that socioeconomic barrier could significantly alter physical activity behaviour and performance in people with lower limb loss, especially in motor activity endurance.