Factors associated with good self-rated health of non-disabled elderly living alone in Japan: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundSelf-rated health (SRH) is reported as a reliable predictor of disability and mortality in the aged population and has been studied worldwide to enhance the quality of life of the elderly. Nowadays, the elderly living alone, a particular population at great risk of suffering physical and mental health problems, is increasing rapidly in Japan and could potentially make up the majority of the aged population. However, few data are available pertaining to SRH of this population. Given the fact that sufficient healthcare is provided to the disabled elderly whereas there is little support for non-disabled elderly, we designed this population-based survey to investigate SRH of non-disabled elderly living alone and to identify the factors associated with good SRH with the purpose of aiding health promotion for the elderly.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in a metropolitan suburb in Japan. Questionnaires pertaining to SRH and physical conditions, lifestyle factors, psychological status, and social activities, were distributed in October 2005 to individuals aged ≥ 65 years and living alone. Response rate was 75.1%. Among these respondents, a total of 600 male and 2587 female respondents were identified as non-disabled elderly living alone and became our subjects. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with good SRH and sex-specific effect was tested by stepwise logistic regression.ResultsGood SRH was reported by 69.8% of men and 73.8% of women. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that good SRH correlated with, in odds ratio sequence, "can go out alone to distant places", no depression, no weight loss, absence of self-rated chronic disease, good chewing ability, and good visual ability in men; whereas with "can go out alone to distant places", absence of self-rated chronic disease, no weight loss, no depression, no risk of falling, independent IADL, good chewing ability, good visual ability, and social integration (attend) in women.ConclusionFor the non-disabled elderly living alone, sex-appropriate support should be considered by health promotion systems from the view point of SRH. Overall, the ability to go out alone to distant places is crucial to SRH of both men and women.

Association between social group participation and perceived health among elderly inhabitants of a previously methylmercury-polluted area

“…The results of hierarchical linear modeling showed that long-term distress levels were predicted by stress-moderating psychosocial factors such as perceived family problems, not by the level of residential radiation contamination. The positive impact of participation in a hobby-or volunteer-related group demonstrated in the present study is consistent with findings of previous studies among the elderly [25][26][27]. A population-based survey to assess perceived health among non-disabled elderly individuals living alone and the factors associated with good perceived health found that participation in social groups such as recreational activities and hobby associations was a positive factor in females, although contact with relatives, friends, or confidants was not significant in either gender [26].…”

“…The positive impact of participation in a hobby-or volunteer-related group demonstrated in the present study is consistent with findings of previous studies among the elderly [25][26][27]. A population-based survey to assess perceived health among non-disabled elderly individuals living alone and the factors associated with good perceived health found that participation in social groups such as recreational activities and hobby associations was a positive factor in females, although contact with relatives, friends, or confidants was not significant in either gender [26]. Similarly, another community survey revealed that the association between associational involvement, including sports club and hobby, or volunteer activity and perceived health among the elderly [18].…”

“…While the relationship between participation in a hobbyor volunteer-related group and perceived health was found to be significant, no significance was detected in the relationships of other group memberships-such as community-related groups, business-related groups, or beliefrelated groups-and perceived health among the elderly residents of the area. Sun et al [26] conducted a large-scale population-based survey investigating the association between self-rated health (SRH) and social activities among the elderly in Japan. In univariate analysis, SRH was significantly correlated with social networks assessed according to variables such as frequency of contact with friends and confidants.…”

Food security and morbidity of elderly in disadvantaged rural Bangladesh

“…Anxiety (depression) is a major psychological disorder that affects the quality of the elderly (Sun et al, 2007). Thus, status of anxiety was assessed by examining level of anxiety in the study population.…”

Satisfaction with the neighborhood environment and health in older elderly: cross-sectional evidence from the Bambuí cohort study of aging

“…Several worldwide studies have demonstrated that poor self-rated health among the elderly is associated with female gender 6,8 ; low income 9 ; presence of comorbidities 10 , depression 10,11,12,13 , disabilities 6,12 ; lack of physical exercise 12,14 , inability to go out alone 11 ; access to health services, including health care coverage and high outpatient use 5,15 . Less understood, however, is the neighborhood's influence on the health of older adults 16 .…”