Study of life-course factors and social and physical environments to prevent dementia

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K19794
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Society medicine, Nursing, and related fields
• Research Institution: Tokyo Medical and Dental University
• Principal Investigator: Fujiwara Takeo 東京医科歯科大学, 大学院医歯学総合研究科, 教授 (80510213)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-06-30 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 認知症 / GPS / 社会的環境 / 物理的環境 / ライフコース

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Previous studies found positive impact on exposure of green space for better mental health. However, measurement on exposure to green space need to be more accurate. Recent advancement of technology, such as Global Positioning System (GPS), may improve the measurement on exposure to green spaces. We conducted NEIGE study, a population-based study of older adults in Tokamachi city, Niigata, Japan, assessing mental health (geriatric depression scale), cognitive function (MMSE), happiness, and social isolation by questionnaire. Further, we assessed geographical position using GPS. GPS data was further linked with 50m buffer average of green space (based on NDVI).By using GPS, we may capture the real exposure of green spaces. However, the assessment may not guarantee that the participants “watch” the green or not. Further technology assessing the “view” of the participants in real setting may improve the limitation of GPS study.

Free Research Field

公衆衛生学、疫学（社会疫学、ライフコース疫学）

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

高齢者の認知機能を保つための都市計画、建築計画において、実際の高齢者の行動に基づく解析からどのようなまちづくりが認知症予防に効果的であるのかについて示唆することができた意義は大きい。この結果をもとに、さらに長期的な影響を今後明らかにしていく必要があるだろう。