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Mobility performance among healthy older adults eligible for long-term care in Japan: a prospective observational study

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Abstract

Background and aim

Disability is an important health problem among older individuals, prompting the need for long-term care. Age-related disability is usually associated with mobility; however, little is known about the association between mobility and long-term care. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify the association between the timed up and go (TUG) test measuring mobility and long-term care eligibility.

Patients and methods

We analyzed follow-up data of 489 community-dwelling healthy older adults (≥ 65 years) who participated in a prospective observational study. They were divided into certified (59 participants) and uncertified (430 participants) groups based on long-term care eligibility. Anthropometric and physical functioning measures included the TUG test and hand grip strength (HGS), among others. These measures were compared between groups and a multivariate logistic regression analysis evaluated the association between the TUG test times and long-term care eligibility.

Results

Participants’ minimum follow-up period was 4 years. TUG times were significantly slower (median time: 7.4 vs. 8.3 s, p < 0.001) and HGS and knee-extension strength significantly lower in the certified group than in the uncertified group. The logistic regression analysis showed that TUG times were significantly associated with long-term care eligibility after adjusting for potential covariates. In addition, mediation analysis showed that 53.1% of the association between HGS and long-term care eligibility was mediated through TUG times.

Conclusion

The TUG test was associated with long-term care eligibility among healthy older adults, implying that the test may be helpful as a predictor for the early determination of dependence in old age.

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Acknowledgements

This study was partially supported by a grant from the “Strategic Research Base Development” Program for Private Universities, subsidized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in Japan (2011), as well as a generous donation from the Saitama Prefecture University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Emergency Room and General Medicine, Ageo Central General Hospital, Saitama, Japan

    Hiromasa Otsuka

  2. Division of Nephrology, Hypertension and Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1, Oyaguchikami-machi, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-8610, Japan

    Hiroki Kobayashi & Masanori Abe

  3. Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Kiyozumi Suzuki, Jin Ikeda, Masaru Kushimoto, Wataru Omoto, Kimitoshi Kato & Masayoshi Soma

  4. Department of Nursing, School of Health and Social Services, Saitama Prefectural University, Saitama, Japan

    Motohiko Hara

  5. Department of Rehabilitation, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan

    Motohiko Hara

  6. Division of Internal Medicine, Sasaki Foundation Kyoundo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan

    Yuta Hayashi & Masayoshi Soma

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  1. Hiromasa Otsuka
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  2. Hiroki Kobayashi
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Correspondence to Hiroki Kobayashi.

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Approval for the present study was obtained from the Research Committee of Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. This study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

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All participants provided written informed consent to participate at their first visit.

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Otsuka, H., Kobayashi, H., Suzuki, K. et al. Mobility performance among healthy older adults eligible for long-term care in Japan: a prospective observational study. Aging Clin Exp Res 32, 1931–1937 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-019-01404-2

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