Chiyoe Murata, MPH, Takaaki Kondo, MD, PhD, Yoko Hori, Msc, PhD, Koji Tamakoshi, MD, PhD, Hiroshi Yatsuya, MD, PhD, and Hideaki Toyoshima, MD, PhD. Department of Public Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan, 052-744-2128, chiyoe@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Life space of the elderly decreases with advancing age. Evidence suggests life space is closely related to one's functional status. In this study, we examined the association between a surrogate measure of life space and seven-year mortality among the elderly in a rural town in Japan. All the residents 65 years and older (N=2,548) completed a survey in 1992 with response rate of 97.7%. Daily activity level was used as a surrogate for life space and divided into four categories (no difficulty/able, some difficulty/able, some difficulty/limited, nearly homebound). Preliminary analysis revealed that those in lower daily activity level were significantly older, had more reported illness and lower self-rated health. Relationship between daily activity level and mortality was analyzed using Cox proportional hazard models, with self-rated health, number of illness, mobility-related activities and employment as covariates. When those with "no difficulty/able" were used as reference, mortality hazard ratios for those with "some difficulty" were 1.19 (0.80-1.77) and 1.46 (0.92-2.32) for men, 1.52 (1.00-2.31) and 1.90 (1.29-2.81) for women, for "able" and "limited" categories, respectively. Hazard ratios for "nearly homebound" individuals were 2.53 (1.32-4.86) for men and 2.30 (1.36-3.88) for women. Those in lower daily activity level were more likely to report walking difficulty, lack of opportunity and transportation as problems encountered in participating in social activities. In planning intervention to promote health among the elderly, especially mildly disabled ones, targeting both at individual and environment level may be more effective.

Learning Objectives:

• At the end of the session, audience will identify factors influencing elderly life space in rural area of Japan.
• Audiende will recognize interaction between environment and individual behaviors.

Keywords: Disability, Rural Populations

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.