The association between home environment and health-related status among Japanese senior citizens living in the snowy region.

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17H04129
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Hygiene and public health
• Research Institution: Osaka City University
• Principal Investigator: Ukawa Shigekazu 大阪市立大学, 大学院生活科学研究科, 准教授 (40706751)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 森 太郎 北海道大学, 工学研究院, 准教授 (70312387) ; 玉腰 暁子 北海道大学, 医学研究院, 教授 (90236737)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 高齢者保健

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aimed to investigate the association between room temperature in the cold, snowy season, and health-related outcomes in the community-dwelling older people of five towns in Hokkaido, Japan.
We analyzed data from 569 participants (301 men and 268 women) who participated in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study 2016 aged between 69 to 78 years. These participants did not need long-term care and lived in Higashikawa, Higashikagura, Biei, Tomamae, Yoichi, or Otofuke. We measured the temperature in the living room and bathroom for 14 days using HLT-100BT (CUSTOM). The median temperature was 20.9 (minimum: 3.6, maximum: 29.7) °C in the living room, and 17.4 (minimum: -0.2, maximum:27.0) °C in the bathroom. We found significant inverse associations between the age of the house and room temperature. No significant correlations were found between room temperature in the living room and cognitive function, average daily steps, or sedentary time, or daily sodium intake.

Free Research Field

高齢者保健

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

冬季の積雪寒冷地に居住する高齢者は、自家用車所有の有無にかかわらず無積雪時と比較して積雪時に外出頻度、時間、移動距離のすべてが大幅に減少すること、低室温で生活する人はそうでない人と比較して、活動量が低く、筋力も低いことが報告されており、本調査を実施したが、居間の2週間平均温室と認知機能、7日間の平均歩数、座位時間、食塩取量との間にいずれも有意な相関関係は認めなかった。一方、室温が極めて低い住居に居住している者がいることが明らかになった。現在も追跡は継続しており、今後は中長期的な影響を検討する予定である。