Epidemiologic study on physical conditions related to work among the elderly

Abstract

The present study was conducted in order to examine the epidemiologic factors related to work capacity among the elderly. As study area, Ogimi Village in Okinawa Prefecture was selected by reason of the long life expectancy of the inhabitants. Medical examination and interview were conducted on 756 inhabitants aged 65 yr and older. Working status was classified into two groups, that is, working group and non-working group. The association between working status and related factors was examined by using multiple logistic regression analysis. The examined factors were as follows: sex, age, history of apoplexy, history of being down, history of falls, history of fracture, chewing ability, pain, exercise habit, hobby, education, number of family members, alcohol, smoking, food intake frequencies and medical indicators (blood pressure, ecg, Quetlet index, skinfold thickness, grip strength, one-leg test with eyes opened, albumin, total cholesterol, hemoglobin and HDL-cholesterol). The results of the analysis revealed that grip strength and one-leg test with eyes opened had a statistically significant correlation with working status (p>0.01). From the results, maintenance of muscle strength and equilibrium function were found to be the physical conditions related to work among the elderly in the agricultural area. © 1992, Japan Society for Occupational Health. All rights reserved.