J Korean Acad Adult Nurs.  2006 Sep;18(4):612-621.

Comparison of Health Status, Health-related Life Habits, Activities of Daily Living and Biophysical Index between Korean and Japanese Elderly

• Choe MA
• Chae YR
• Kim JI
• Jeon MY

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study was to identify the health status, health-related life habits, activities of daily living and biophysical index of the elderly in Korea and Japan respectively, and to compare the Korean elderly with those of the Japanese elderly. METHOD: Two hundred ninety five elderly from Korea and 325 elderly from Japan, aged over 65 years were conveniently recruited from welfare centers in both countries. Health status, health-related life habits, and activities of daily living were assessed by self-report questionnaires. BMI, lean body mass, body fat, body fat rate, muscle area of limbs and grip strength were measured for biophysical indices. Descriptive statistics, non paired t-test and Chi-square test were used to describe and to compare the levels of these variables.
RESULTS
The mean scores on frequencies of Korean and Japanese elders' chronic diseases were 2.9 and 0.8. The mean scores on activities of daily living were 9.8 and 12.4 respectively. The Korean elderly had higher mean scores of BMI, and body fat rate than The Japanese elderly, and showed lower mean scores of muscle areas of the lower extremities and grip strength. Hypertension was the most prevalent disease in the both groups.
CONCLUSION
Significant differences in several variables of health status, health-related life habits, activities of daily living and biophysical index were noted between the Korean and Japanese elderly.

Keyword

Health Status; Activities of Daily Living; Aged

MeSH Terms

Activities of Daily Living*
Adipose Tissue
Aged*
Asian Continental Ancestry Group*
Chronic Disease
Extremities
Hand Strength
Humans
Hypertension
Japan
Korea
Lower Extremity
Surveys and Questionnaires