A state in which the mind and body deteriorate with age is called "frail", and there is a high risk of falling into a state requiring nursing care, but if you intervene early and take measures, there is a possibility that it will return to the original healthy state (reversible). be.Professor Katsuhiko Takatori and Associate Professor Daisuke Matsumoto of the Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kio University conducted a large-scale survey of the elderly, who have a particularly high risk and incidence of frailty syndrome.It became clear that those who escaped from Frail had a lot of interaction with their neighbors and had high trust in the area.

 So far, there have been many studies on risk factors for frailty syndrome, and the factors that influence the exit from frailty syndrome have not been clarified.This time, we tracked about 5,000 elderly people living in the area for two years and investigated the stage change of frail.The characteristics of subjects who were judged to be frail at the time of the initial survey and improved to healthy (robust) or pre-frail (state before frail) two years later were analyzed.
As a result, it was found that "high subjective health" and "exercise-based social participation activities" such as exercise at the elderly salon and participation in gymnastics classes are important factors.In addition, "strong interaction with neighbors", "strong trust in the area where they live", "active social participation activities", that is, "individual level social capital for active community activities" It turned out that "strength of *" is important.

 This study is the first large-scale and prospective study in Japan to investigate the factors that cause frailty syndrome in the late-stage elderly.Currently, we have follow-up data from the initial survey to 4 years later, and in the future we will analyze the characteristics of people who do not reach the need for long-term care even if they are frail, and contribute not only to the negative aspects of frail but also to positive stage changes. By showing basic data, he hopes to continue research that will be useful for future frailty syndrome prevention and long-term care prevention.

* Social capital is "characteristics of social organizations such as" trust, "" norms, "and" networks "that can enhance the efficiency of society by activating people's cooperative actions" (from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare website). ..

Paper information:[PLOS ONE] Social factors associated with reversing frailty progression in community-dwelling late-stage elderly people: An observational study

Kio University

Achieved a 17% employment decision rate for all graduates over 99.2 years.A university that emphasizes practical studies to develop specialists in health and education

Kio University is a university that emphasizes practical science and trains professionals in the fields of health and education, such as physical therapists, nurses, midwives, registered dietitians, architects, elementary school teachers, kindergarten teachers, school nurses, and childcare workers. .The employment decision rate for all graduates over the 17 years since the university opened was 99.2%*, and it has been evaluated as a ``university that is strong in employment.''

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