Kawaharada R1, Tsuboi Y1,2, Chaiyawat P3, Murata S1,2, Isa T1, Torizawa K1, Matsuda N1, Okumura M1, Sitdhiraksa N3, Ono R1
1Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe, Japan, 2Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan, 3Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
Background: Aging society is a global problem. Whereas Japan has already faced super-aged society, Asian countries, including Thailand, are facing a complete aging society. As a global health policy, international cooperation is essential to deal with aging society, such as sharing knowledge and skills. As the first step of international cooperation, it is crucial to show and understand the differences in health issues between countries. Falling and cognitive impairment are one of the leading causes of care in community-dwelling elderly. Timed up and Go test (TUG) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) are widely used as a screening tool of risk for falling and dementia among community-dwelling elderly.
Purpose: The aim of the present study was to compare the TUG second and MMSE score of community-dwelling elderly between Thailand and Japan.
Methods: The present study included older adults aged ≥ 65 years living in the community, comprised 98 subjects from Thailand (79.6% female; mean age = 72.99 ± 6.0) and 147 from Japan (60.5% female; mean age = 76.25 ± 5.3). We examined demographic data and health status including age, gender, BMI, education, comorbid conditions (high blood pressure, diabetes, dyslipidemia, heart problem, visual and hearing impairment, osteoarthritis of the knee, smoking status, working status), TUG and MMSE. We examined the differences between subjects from Thailand and Japan in the demographic data, health status and age-adjusted mean of TUG and MMSE.
Results: The mean of TUG seconds were 11.44 ± 2.6 and 9.01 ± 2.1 in subjects from Thailand and Japan. Regarding MMSE, the mean score were 24.43 ± 4.2 and 27.59 ± 2.2, respectively. Significant country differences between Thailand and Japan were shown in TUG second (β = －2.9, p 0.001) and MMSE score (β = 3.6, p 0.001).
Conclusion(s): The study showed the trend of TUG and MMSE score in Community-Dwelling Japanese Elderly were better than the Thai. Further researches are warranted to identify the factors contributing to the differences in TUG and MMSE scores between Thailand and Japan such as economic and health policy, environment factor and personal factor respectively.
Implications: Our study suggested that country differences on TUG and MMSE may reflect sociocultural differences between Japan and Thailand. It might be essential to acknowledge these differences between two countries when we move international cooperation forward.
Keywords: Thailand, Japan, elderly
Funding acknowledgements: This study was not supported.
Purpose: The aim of the present study was to compare the TUG second and MMSE score of community-dwelling elderly between Thailand and Japan.
Methods: The present study included older adults aged ≥ 65 years living in the community, comprised 98 subjects from Thailand (79.6% female; mean age = 72.99 ± 6.0) and 147 from Japan (60.5% female; mean age = 76.25 ± 5.3). We examined demographic data and health status including age, gender, BMI, education, comorbid conditions (high blood pressure, diabetes, dyslipidemia, heart problem, visual and hearing impairment, osteoarthritis of the knee, smoking status, working status), TUG and MMSE. We examined the differences between subjects from Thailand and Japan in the demographic data, health status and age-adjusted mean of TUG and MMSE.
Results: The mean of TUG seconds were 11.44 ± 2.6 and 9.01 ± 2.1 in subjects from Thailand and Japan. Regarding MMSE, the mean score were 24.43 ± 4.2 and 27.59 ± 2.2, respectively. Significant country differences between Thailand and Japan were shown in TUG second (β = －2.9, p 0.001) and MMSE score (β = 3.6, p 0.001).
Conclusion(s): The study showed the trend of TUG and MMSE score in Community-Dwelling Japanese Elderly were better than the Thai. Further researches are warranted to identify the factors contributing to the differences in TUG and MMSE scores between Thailand and Japan such as economic and health policy, environment factor and personal factor respectively.
Implications: Our study suggested that country differences on TUG and MMSE may reflect sociocultural differences between Japan and Thailand. It might be essential to acknowledge these differences between two countries when we move international cooperation forward.
Keywords: Thailand, Japan, elderly
Funding acknowledgements: This study was not supported.
Topic: Older people; Older people
Ethics approval required: Yes
Institution: Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences
Ethics committee: Ethics Committee of Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences
Ethics number: 625
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
